PMD The Last Legend Book 2: The Age of Entei
by 16Doobop13
Summary: 2 months since Conlan's unprecedented evolution have passed, but The Known World has only declined. Fire Province in a civil war, Obsidian Legion conquering the west, and growing tensions between a dwarfed UGM and a new international mercenary guild are just a few of the problems Team Moonbrand faces as The Last Legend continues.
1. PMD Book 2: AoE (Area of Effect)

_**AN0: This Book is going to start with a return to form. These scenes are going to be very short, much like they were in the beginning of The Last Legend.**_

* * *

 **Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Last Legend,** _ **Book 2**_ **: The Age of Entei**

 _Two months (or so) has passed since Conlan evolved upon returning from Bishamon. News of this incident quickly spread to the other provinces, some finding it more interesting than others._

 _In the wake of B's assassination and the attacks of The Obsidian Legion, many provinces have seceded participation from the UGM altogether, and now only the Steel, Flying, Electric, and Grass provinces remain active in attempting to keep the international guild afloat._

 _In the West, the Obsidian Legion has been amassing territory of its own, conquering both the Rock and Ground provinces, and appearing to be surrounding the Fire Province, just waiting for the right time to attack._

 _Fearing the threat of an attack from both rebelling forces inside the Fire Province and from the Obsidian Legion, Tashia has called the available leaders of the other provinces to a summit meeting to discuss lending aid to the Fire Province, and she has brought both her most loyal knight, Cochrane, as well as Conlan himself, and a couple other Moonbrand members along with her for both leverage and safety._

 _However, only 3 other provinces, Fairy, Flying, and Dark, have shown up at the summit…_

* * *

 **Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn: Wildeburn Keep: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Wildeburn Summit, Part 1**

 **Moonbrand Members Present: Conlan, Rudo, Mandy, Bravero**

"Ah, finally, we've arrived!" Rudo sighed with wonder as she, Conlan, Mandy, and Bravero all took in the sight of the nigh ancient Wildeburn Keep.

"This was a very popular tourist destination when I was a child." Tashia smiled as she instinctively went to touch her raiment, remembering her nostalgic childhood, though Cochrane swiftly stopped her.

"Milady, you must remain aware that you are wearing a powerful artifact, and you still don't have the mental fortitude to use its powers carelessly."

"Oh, right!" Tashia quickly brought both her arms down as the six slowly walked into the large keep.

"You're late to your own summit?" A shiny gardevoir asked as she opened the door and shook her head in disappointment. "This does not bode well for the discussions themselves."

"A pleasure as always, Gertrude." Rudo rolled her eyes before nudging Conlan in the side. "Come on, Conlan, let's get seated."

"She might be unpleasant, but she _did_ show up to the summit." Bravero mentioned. "The least you can do is be respectful, especially in the presence of royalty from multiple provinces."

"Oh hey, that's right!" Mandy exclaimed. "And if Team Kirei's leader is here then…*gasp* are we going to get to meet the Fairy Province's Queen and King?!"

"Just the queen!" Comfort, a comfey, piped up as he flew by.

"The king has to stay back at Marvel to command the armies!" Caress, another comfey, announced as she flew in the opposite direction.

"And you must be Tashia." Gertrude noticed Tashia's raiment. She looked like she was in pain for a brief moment, before she knelt down.

"It is an honor to meet royalty of another province, even a lesser one."

"Did she have to backhand that in there like that?" Mandy asked Rudo in a whisper.

"It's good to see some things don't change at least." Conlan laughed to himself as they all entered the keep.

For as old as Wildeburn Keep was, the fort was incredibly well-kept. No dust seemed to be accruing in any corners, and the large table at which most of the pokemon involved in the summit were already gathered were sitting was polished to such an extent that its surface almost could double as a mirror.

"Oh good, the one who called the summit has arrived after all," Concordia smiled sweetly as Tashia took her seat at the head of the table, while Cochrane, Conlan, and the rest of the present Moonbrand members all stood, ready in case of any violent outbreak.

Conlan looked across the room, and noticed that Concordia the clefable, Hadria the hydreigon, and Baron the braviary, had all made an appearance at the summit. Hadria appeared to have brought along Razr the zoroark, Xenon the sceptile, and Kavosa the krookodile of Team Soulwind as guards, and Glimmershine the absol, seemed to also have joined the summit, though he didn't seem terribly interested in what was going on around him. Baron and Concordia however, were both accompanied by obvious royal figures. Near Baron was a very regal looking fearow, with a golden coxcomb in place of the standard red one. If Conlan had to guess, this fearow was likely the ruler of the Flying Province. Along with Baron, this fearow had brought Nezarix and Faden of Team Horizon, as well as another noivern and an aerodactyl that Conlan personally didn't recognize.

Near Concordia was, of course, Gertrude, Caress, and Comfort, all brought in for guard duty, but sitting right next to her at the table was a diancie whose beauty was only matched by the aura of unpleasant superiority that radiated from her. She looked bored, as if she already knew everything that was going to happen, and before Tashia could explain the exact reason she called the summit in the first place, the diancie spoke up.

"The Fairy Province is unable to lend you any aid at this time." She sighed. "May we leave?"

"Deirdre, I understand that you have your own province to look after, but we should at least let Tashia talk." The fearow suggested. "You came all this way after all."

"Don't remind me." Deirdre looked over at Concordia.

"Um…" Tashia looked around to make sure everyone was paying attention. "Well, it's actually just like Deirdre said. The Fire Province really needs help, especially when it comes to defending the capital. Even just a little military power would go a long way! And I'd be willing to pay for it too, the help doesn't have to be for free!"

"It doesn't, does it?" Deirdre rolled her eyes. "Then I suppose we can send aid-"

"Your majesty-" Concordia attempted to intervene.

"Quiet!" Deirdre snapped. "I know what I'm doing!"

Conlan watched, in disbelief, as Concordia obeyed and sat back in her seat.

"As I was saying…" Deirdre continued. "We can send aid, but it can't be in the form of soldiers. We need them for our own problems back on Fable, which, to be honest, we could _also_ use aid for, and while you…" She gestured her hand as though she was trying to think of a way to say 'Fire Province locals' in an offensive way. "...Desert dwellers…" She eventually decided upon "Are not the best with your cosmetic or artistic senses, you are quite apt at combat, and your own soldiers would prove useful in both guarding and reclaiming our territory. In return, for your promised help once your...situation, is taken care of, we will send you aid in the form of these three mercenaries…"

"Ugh, I knew it…" Gertrude sighed while Caress and Comfort seemed to enjoy the news that they would get to travel some more.

"As well as give Moonbrand a special gift, a member, to congratulate their human leader's evolution."

Deirdre turned back to the fearow. "I assume this is enough to qualify as 'aid', Fernando?"

"I was never trying to pressure you to send aid, just to let Tashia speak." Fernando explained as he turned. "As for the Flying Province's part, we'd be happy to lend you support, though our numbers would be small, somewhere from four to five hundred. The rest of our might needs to be focused on maintaining what little remains of the UGM. Our province in particular would suffer heavy economic losses in the event of the guild's complete collapse, and we cannot let that happen."

"Well, I don't think anyone here as any intention of defying the UGM, riiight?" Concordia shot both Rudo and Conlan a sideways glance as she spoke.

"Meh, I don't care one way or the other about this UGM business…" Hadria sighed. "When I resigned from the guild, I made sure all the mercenary bands formed would still have jobs serving me and my government directly. In regards to the plea for aid however, I want to know is…" She crossed her arms as she leaned forward on the table, and her two other heads also leaned forward with the same look of anticipation.

"What's in it for me?"

"Um…" Tashia looked back at Cochrane and the Moonbrand members.

"How about…" Conlan thought aloud "Higher tariffs for imported products from the Dark Province? It would give us a way to repay them, without having to spend any money we don't have right now."

"The problem there is," Bravero interjected. "Most things are made in the Dark Province. If we raise the prices of those for our own people, we'll be plunged deeper into depression than what this civil war will already create."

"Well…" Hadria gave it a thought, noticing that Tashia clearly didn't have much to offer. "How about a more political reward instead? I want Sunmire Strand."

"For our, perhaps less historically inclined…" Concordia smiled at Conlan "Sunmire Strand is what the far northern part of you province is called. Back in the Great Type War, the Fire Province took it from the Ground Province, which was bigger back then."

"Ah." Conlan nodded. "But, I don't understand why you would want that strand of land, Hadria. Isn't the Dark Province on less-than-agreeable terms with the Fighting Province? You have a wall to protect your current border but there's no such-..." Conlan stopped himself, realizing the hydreigon's intentions.

"Oh, it looks like you managed to figure it out." Hadria laughed. "A round of applause for the human. Fine then, I admit it, it's for an invasion."

* * *

 **Fire Province: Blaze Desert(30F Mystery Dungeon) Entrance: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Crustle's Caravan, Part 1**

 **Moonbrand Members Present: Magdalene, Gina, Bennett, Verden**

 **Mission Details: "Help escort a caravan of goods through Blaze Desert. My usual guards defaulted on me due to the war in the Fire Province!"**

 **Sender: Cassius, (Crustle)**

 **Mission Type: Escort/Bodyguard**

 **Mission Reward: "10,000 poke for each cart that makes it through the desert without losing cargo, and another 5,000 poke and an ancient map(hopefully valuable) for services rendered, assuming I am to make it through the desert alive as well."**

"You four!" A crustle waiting impatiently by the arcanine statue signaling the entrance to Blaze Desert chirped as he scuttled up to them. "You're Moonbrand, correct?"

"Yeah, that's us." Verden nodded. "Are you Cassius?"

"Yes, yes I am." Cassius's nervous demeanor would not go away.

"N-now, I am to understand that we...have multiple carts to guard?" Magdalene asked almost as nervously as Cassius seemed.

"Magdalene, you alright?" Bennett asked, in a rare moment of serious concern."

"F-fine…" She quickly brought her scarf down over her neck.

"Uh, in any case," Cassius responded to the question "yes, there are 5 carts in total to guard. 4 of them will be carrying important goods, and the last of them is my own cart. It's my, I suppose you could call it a mobile home. If, Arceus forbid, you can only save one cart, please make it that one. I have very sentimental items stored in there, you see."

"Alright, seems simple enough." Gina nodded.

"I Can't believe you're normal guards defaulted on you because of a war." Bennett shared his opinion on the matter. "It's not like The Known World was at all peaceful before, you know?"

"Well…" Cassius looked around nervously again. "I suppose they might just have heard stories of the military accomplishments of the Fire Province in the past."

"Alright, so how are we going to split the job up?" Gina asked. "Assuming Cassius will be hiding in his cart, that's five carts and four of us."

"I'll take point!" Bennett volunteered. "Point!" He pointed into the desert.

"Then, I guess I'll stay in the middle." Gina suggested. "I can cover the widest range with Ice Shard and Blizzard if I do that, and we could make an ice road to travel on if the terrain gets to rough."

"Then Magdalene and I will take the rear." Verden suggested. "No offense Magdalene, but you seem a little out of it, and I'd like to at least have another Moonbrand near you, just in case."

"Anything is fine, but please, let's go!" Cassius seemed incredibly eager to just be done with this entire mission already.

"Worst fuckin' employer ever." Gina sighed under her breath as they slowly moved into the Blaze Desert, unaware that they were being watched by a menacing, and grinning, heliolisk.

* * *

 **Fire Province: Upper Ember Wilds(15F Mystery Dungeon): 7F: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Espionage in Emberguard, Part 1**

 **Moonbrand Members Present: Charlie, Aaron, Semora, Terune**

"We'll rest here for the night." Charlie decided. "We're far enough from Sapien Triage territory that we should be safe from any kidnapping events."

"I thought that the fire Sapien Triage was taken care of already?" Aaron rose a brow. "I could have sworn that both Conlan and Rudo took down-"

"A clan leader, but not a tribe leader." Charlie corrected them. "It wasn't like when Semora eliminated the entire water Sapien Triage tribe a few months ago."

"I thought I told you to not talk about it." Semora glared.

"It's been two months already." Aaron sighed. "And this team has seen death multiple times before. The sooner you learn to move on from it the better."

"You're one to talk, visiting someone not even on your team in a hospital."

"We s-shouldn't fight." Terune mumbled under his breath.

"We really shouldn't." Semora agreed. "I'll be fine if this mission is simple espionage, but the rest of you lack any proper training, which is why we need to meet up with Inkeri at the rendezvous point as quickly as possible."

"That infernape's running this place like she might as well be Reshiram herself." Aaron lamented."Heck, even the new queen is looking to her for what to do."

"Well, can you blame her?" Charlie reasoned. "Queen Tashia doesn't come from any noble family, she's the daughter of two Geotherm Plant workers. She has next to no political experience, and you know that if Inkeri didn't think this was more important, she'd be the one providing guard duty at the summit meeting."

"It would be unwise to distrust someone who has yet to do anything to deserve it." Semora chided. "Inkeri has yet to make a decision detrimental to the province, and has on many occasions already, only simply given the queen advice. I can guarantee you that the Fire Province is not the only one whose ruler has advisors."

"I suppose" Aaron sighed "but still, I think that-"

"I hear pokemon coming this way…" Terune announced as he shuddered.

The four Moonbrand members turned to see a nidoqueen, an excadrill, and a tyrantrum all rush towards them.

"Come on, come on, come on!" The tyrantrum announced as the trio began to run right passed the Moonbrand members.

"Hey, wait, why are you running?" Aaron asked after them.

"Man, we thought we'd try and expand our territory by taking over one of the outer towns, with less guards, but we didn't expect whatever the hell _that thing_ was to be waiting there for us! You better skidaddle too, kids, before you're eaten alive by that monster!"

"Well, there's only one actual child among us." Semora looked at Terune. "But in either case, that sounds like something dangerous."

"It certainly does." Aaron nodded. "And we'd be ignoring our duties as mercenaries if we didn't at least check out what it was."

"We'd be ignoring our duties as mercenaries if we failed to listen to our boss's orders." Charlie rebutted. "And Inkeri wants us to meet up with her at the rendezvous point in the _opposite_ direction."

"Well, clearly we can't stay here anymore at least." Semora said as she began to pack up the campsite she had finally laid down. "And if there is something heading in this direction, we will eventually see it when we are _at_ Emberguard, and thus have more help readily available in terms of numbers and powerful pokemon. And if we're lucky, it may turn out that whatever those clear as day bandits were referring to as a monster is actually something or someone friendly towards us."

"Fine." Aaron sighed. "In that case, I suppose we can head onwards…"

"Actually…" A voice announced as the nidoqueen, excadrill, and tyrantrum from earlier returned, this time with clear malicious intent. The excadrill was the one speaking.

"We've decided to kill you four and offer you up to that thing. That way, it won't be able to follow us back to our own hideout!"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Charlie groaned as the four of them all took fighting stances. "Two months without a mission and now this? Why can't I get a straight job for once that doesn't involve some outside force fucking things up?"

* * *

 ** _AN1: I said it would be short, didn't I? In any case, for those wondering about both OCs and rampant death, OCs are still welcome, and rampant death is still a thing. There also isn't a grace period this time, so Semora's, Aaron's, Charlie's, and Terune's creators, you'll wanna PM me about how your OCs will handle the incoming fight._**

* * *

 ** _AN2: If you're an author with OCs present in any of the other missions this 'arc' feel free to PM about things you'd like your OCs to do as well (even if it's as simple as certain characters they want to talk to, or questions they want to ask)_**

* * *

 ** _AN3: I said OCs were still welcome, but the form is going to be different. Here it is:_**

 ** _3 Main Rules_**

 ** _1: No Humans Turned Pokemon_**

 ** _2: No Mary Sue/Gary Stu Pokemon_**

 ** _3: No Gods, No Province Rulers, and No Ultra Beasts_**

 ** _4: Know that your OC can, and quite possibly will, die._**

* * *

 ** _Age of Entei OC Form:_**

 ** _OC Name, Sex, Species:_**

 ** _OC Home Province (Where they are from):_**

 ** _OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):_**

 ** _OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):_**

 ** _OC Moveset:_**

 ** _Move 1(From Natural Movepool):_**

 ** _Move 2(From Natural Movepool):_**

 ** _Move 3(From Natural Movepool):_**

 ** _Move 4(From Natural Movepool):_**

 ** _Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):_**

 ** _Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):_**

 ** _OC Personality:_**

 ** _OC Background:_**

 ** _Anything Else Doobop Should Know:_**

* * *

 _ **That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	2. The Worst Kind Of Good Luck

**Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn: Wildeburn Keep: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Wildeburn Summit, Part 2**

 **Moonbrand Members Present: Conlan, Rudo, Mandy, Bravero**

"Invade the Fighting Province?" Fernando squawked. "Hastia, you've got to be joking!"

"I'm afraid I'm serious." Hastia's smile remained on her face. "I have a strange feeling that if I don't, a different province will, and if the balance of power is to tip anyways, it might as well be towards my own land's benefit."

"We can't let them invade the Fighting Province." Rudo exclaimed as Moonbrand whispered to each other in a huddle. "We're keeping the real Cahir with us! If a war breaks out and it gets out that Cahir is resting in Lightgasp…"

"That's only more enemies for the Fire Province to fight." Conlan nodded.

"Hadria, we can't allow you to invade our neighboring province." Tashia spoke. "It would cost money and lives that the defeated province would not be able to repay or replace, and you would be in no help to give our own province any aid."

"Well said." Hadria unfolded her arms. "Unfortunately for you, if you're asking my province for help without offering _anything_ in return, then I think you know that the answer is 'no'."

"*Ahem*." Glimmershine spoke up. "I am not a political pokemon. It is far less glamorous than those in power would have you believe, but I also do not want to see any invasions taking place. That's why, my plan, if you would all like to support it, is to broadcast a show worldwide."

"A tv show is the last thing anyone wants right now." Gertrude rolled her eyes.

"But it's the first thing everyone needs!" Glimmershine put his front paws on the table. "It'll be broadcast live, interrupting regular shows and cable and whatnot, and it will put the minds of all who watch it at ease, even if only for a little bit. It will remind everyone that things _can_ and _should_ be better than the way they are now!"

"And how would we reach the rest of the world, hmm?" Concordia asked. "Don't misunderstand, I think the idea is wonderful, but the Fairy Province uses its own television system, and the Electric Province is part of the UGM still, and they haven't been sharing their electricity with the other provinces ever since the mass secession of representatives. Not even with the Fire Province, who, as far as the UGM should know, is officially still an affiliate, simply without a representative."

"Concordia, as always you are doing a wonderful job painting a guild based on unity as some sort of evil den of corruption." Baron responded. "The UGM would be more than happy to broadcast this message to all provinces who haven't cut their wires in a reckless fury. Oh, but I suppose it won't reach half the world anyways then, will it?"

"This is pointless." Deirdre sighed. "Arguing about how to broadcast a special program is getting us nowhere. The biggest issue is who would fund such a thing, and if monetary wealth wasn't issue with everyone present here, we wouldn't be holding this summit in the first place. The Fairy Province has their own war to deal with, the Fire Province can't access the majority of their funds thanks to their civil war, the Flying Province is still part of the UGM, so all their funds are being used to rebuild Southshore rather than in their coffers where they belong-"

"Hey!" Baron piped up.

"And the Dark Province is simply a bunch of unreliable con artists and bandits." Deirdre finished. "Hadria's only come here to prey on what she thinks is a failing nation."

"Oh really?" Hadria growled. "The last I checked, the Fairy Province was only second to the Fire Province in terms of civil unrest and uprisings in these most recent decades."

"You will not insult the great nation of Fable!" Deirdre rose from her place at the table. "If you do not intend to truly negotiate, then the Fairy Province is leaving!"

"No one leave!" Tashia shouted out, gathering everyone's surprised attention. "We can...figure this out...I promise!" She slowly reached up to touch her raiment with her hand.

"Please...Reshiram...what can we do that benefits everyone?" She asked as she grasped the garment, before her eyes began to glow a brilliant white, and her raiment of lava flared brightly to life.

"You have failed to notice the greatest threat while you have all squabbled like children!" Reshiram's voice chastised from Tashia's mouth. "Deirdre! You know full well that the war you claim is so important to the Fairy Province can be won easily, yet you are letting your province's culture get in the way of a simple solution! Fernando, as a pokemon regarded as 'The Merchant King' surely you are aware that continuing to fund a failing guild is a wasted effort. Hadria, you are not gambling in the Dark Province here. Be honest about your reasons for the desired invasion of the Fighting Province. No one here is of a mind to hurt your lands. The rest of you, listen to the truth that Hadria has been hiding from you. It poses the most immediate danger, that would see the destruction of each of your provinces if not dealt with swiftly. Finally, for the matter of your _broadcasting_ plan. Surely the Dark Province hasn't forgotten, it _has_ the means to send a message to the entire world. It merely needs some mercenaries to go retrieve it."

Tashia's body turned towards Conlan.

"And you! Your lack of faith in both you and your team's abilities is precisely what keeps you down. Believe in destiny and allow it to guide you rather than fight against it. Only then will you be able to unlock your true potential."

And with his speech over with, the light faded, and Tashia resumed control of her own body with rapid gasping for air.

"Well…" Concordia looked around. "I think we should take a short recess so Tashia can recover, and then reconvene in say, an hour?"

"Moonbrand, over here!" Deirdre announced to Conlan as he walked through the keep. Conlan pointed to himself and cocked his head. "Yes, you. Over here. I wish to bestow upon you your newest member."

"That's alright, you really don't have to-"

"Nonsense. I will not go back on my word as queen. Come accept the new member of your mercenary band. You'll find her more than capable in battle, I assure you."

"Hello!" A carbink floated out of the room and bowed her head to Conlan. "I am Ornia. I'm one of the Serenity Soldiers of the Fairy Province. I look forward to serving your mercenary band."

"Um…" Conlan looked between the bowing carbink and the diancie looking over the both of them, confused as to how he was supposed to act.

"Rise, Ornia." Deirdre ordered. "He may be the leader, but he's naught but a child. Your formality is wasted on him."

"What's a...Serenity Soldier?" Conlan tilted his head.

"We are divinely inspired warriors that are protected by our guardian deities, and who wield both physical and special attacks potently in a defense-based battle style. As a champion of Tapu-Lele, goddess of life and youth, I am even more equipped to make sure the rest of your lot stays breathing."

"Wait…" Conlan grinned. "Your a carbink, but you aren't part of a religion that worships Diancie-?"

"Diancie is nothing but-" Ornia began to shout angrily before deciding against it as she realized the queen was still floating right behind her. "Nothing but a sect that happens to belong the the Xerneas Faith, as does the Temple of Tapu-Lele."

"Well, I guess it's good to have you on board." Conlan scratched the back of his head.

"I'm here to serve all the members of Moonbrand, so it makes me glad to hear that." Ornia smiled. "Well then, I suppose I should go introduce myself to the others."

"I should be off as well." Deirdre looked around. "I can sense that another is looking for you, human monferno."

"Wait, Deirdre-"

" _Your Majesty_." Deirdre corrected him sternly.

"S-sorry." Conlan tried to laugh it off. "I'm just curious about something. Reshiram said you could win the war on Fable easily, but your culture prevented you from doing it."

"We _could_ win the war easily." Deirdre nodded. "But it would mean laying waste to so much of the land that occupies Fable, and the Fairy Province is strictly against unnecessary destruction of wildlife and property. It is the very opposite of the creation and beauty we hold so dear to our hearts. So while Reshiram is correct, he never specified that our war could only be won by that manner. He merely pointed out the fastest way to win. As Queen and King of our people, my husband and I can make the choice to follow the advice of a god we don't worship, or to reject his truth for our own, and win the way that Xerneas would be proud of."

"That's another thing, your husband? I thought that Fairy Province rule was decided by a beauty contest-"

"And the most beautiful are joined together in matrimony, in the hopes of producing even more beautiful offspring." Deirdre smiled. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"No. It isn't." Conlan disagreed. "Where's any of the love?"

"Oh, you poor naive child." Deirdre almost laughed. "I understand your concern, but you may rest assured that my husband and I do love each other, and our children, very much. A bond forms between two pokemon thrust into a relationship by others. We're a team in life, and we learn to get along and grow with each other. I suppose, living in the Fire Province, the true beauty of the system is lost on you, but your interest in the culture of my province is appreciated. It shows a willingness among the inferior to learn and improve their ways. I will see you in the council chambers, human."

"You don't have to dig at me when you're complimenting me." Conlan muttered as Deirdre hovered away.

He turned around to see the female noivern from the council room approaching him.

"You must be that prophecised human that my brother Nezarix mentioned!" She exclaimed as she walked forward, and Conlan noticed her eyes.

They seemed like they weren't aware of anything.

"Are you blind?" He asked.

"Um, yes, but um-" The noivern twiddled the ends of her wings.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Conlan realized. "Yeah, I'm Conlan. It's nice to meet you!"

"Well, I'm Natalya," The noivern responded "and it's nice to meet someone like you as well! I never imagined that I'd be in the presence of a future hero of legend."

"Heh...I'm not sure about that." Conlan lowered his eyes and averted his gaze. "I haven't had the best track record so far, to put things mildly."

"Well, you heard Reshiram back in the room! You'll get there! Also, I look forward to seeing you grow closer to becoming the hero you are meant to be, and ummm…

…

…

…

…

...if you ever need a teammate, you can ask me…" She whispered into Conlan's ear, while looking around, making sure that someone or something wasn't near her.

"Well, I think one impromptu member joining is enough for now, and it seems like someone doesn't want you to join a team."

"I suppose so…" Natalya pouted. "But I've always been fascinated with the world, and I _can_ hold my own in battle. Just, please give it some thought, alright?"

"I sort of want to build up our band's reputation first." Conlan agreed. "But once we're strong enough, I'm sure we'd welcome you to join us."

After an hour had passed, and Tashia had successfully recovered from her use of the raiment, everyone reconvened in the council chambers.

"Before we begin…" Bravero announced. "May I ask the province leaders and the UGM representatives, both current and former, an important personal question?"

"I don't see why not." Fernando motioned with his wing. "Go ahead."

"Is there anything of substance, no matter how small, that you can tell me about the Azure Syndicate?"

"Bwahahahahahahahahaaa...haaah...haaa…" Concordia began to laugh. "Oh, oh he's serious! That makes it even funnier!"

"Concordia's sentiment is shared by myself." Deirdre responded. "Why on earth would the Fairy Province concern themselves with Normal Province criminals? It was bad enough Team Azure had to show up to Merc Madness and blemish what would have been a beautiful event if it had truly reached its conclusion without failure."

"I know where they're based." Hadria shrugged. "Kingcardine, the Normal Province capital. A nice, tall building called the Azure Citadel. They normally stick to their own province, since the Normal Province can never stop fighting itself, and crime is of no shortage there, but they've recently branched out into other provinces as well, if only a bit. If you want to pick a fight you can't win with them, now you know where to find them."

"Well, it looks like I don't have any more information than Hadria has." Fernando sighed. "Other than their protective nature towards their province of course. Otherwise you can bet your bottom dollar that one of the other province's would have attacked them to set them straight. They've become increasingly violent lately."

"I see...Thank you then." Bravero nodded his head. "We may resume with the negotiations."

"Well, after talking it over…" Nezarix looked at Faden, who nodded back at him. "I've decided that Horizon will help out as well. Zeria and I can head directly to the Fire Province, while Faden and Elvina stay behind in the Flying Province to help out there. That should be fine, right Baron?"

"It's fine." Fernando answered.

"Excuse me, I'm the boss of that team." Baron rose a brow.

"I'm sorry, Baron." Fernando shook his head. "But you were there when Reshiram spoke. The UGM's destiny is failure, and the Flying Province has backed it for far too long. As king, I'm making the executive decision here and now to secede from the UGM, so that we may lend as much aid as possible to our allies in the north, who need it far more."

"Oooh, in front of other royalty too...that must sting…" Concordia taunted.

"You...you did this...somehow...you did this…" Baron squinted at Concordia.

"Baron, you are of course more than welcome to serve as a mercenary band overseer from the province directly." Fernando's eyes narrowed. "I find your sudden outrage at this natural course of action incredibly suspicious."

"Of _course_ it's suspicious." Concordia laughed. "His pay won't be nearly as high now! Imagine making only one hundredth of your current salary. That's what Baron is so upset about."

"I refuse to make so little money for such a large amount of work." Baron announced. "I'm going to the Steel Province to aid them there. They understand my value correctly, at least."

"Baby." Gertrude crossed her arms as Baron flew out a window and away from the keep.

"Now then, if those matters are all settled…" Hadria smiled. "It's time I told you the real reason for my invasion plans. My spies have it on good authority...that the Obsidian Legion is already in possession of the Rock Province Relic, and it's only a matter of time before they find the Ground Province Relic as well. The Fairy and Flying Provinces may not understand, and the Fire Province has their own relic, ready to be used, but the Dark Province does not have that luxury, and we are just as much a target as you are. We _need_ barbaric military power if we're going to survive at all."

"If that's the case then…" Tashia thought about it. "We can grant you aid in searching for your relic, so long as you send us some help to defend Lightgrasp and end this civil war! Please, Hadria, these talks are taking up time we all could be using to better prepare our provinces for war against The Obsidian Legion, the real threat here!"

She held her hand out into the center of the table.

"You have the Flying Province's support and recognition, Queen Tashia." Fernando put his wing into the center as well.

"I'm a pokemon of my word." Deirdre put her hand in. "But know that I will hold you to yours as well."

"Alright. If this is the best deal I can make, then I guess I'd be stupid not to take it." Hadria said as she put her arm into the center, careful to not let its head bite any of the other royalty's hands.

"May this agreement be ever-binding, and upheld by our successors and progeny." Each royal announced. "With this pact, we ratify an agreement between the Dark, Fairy, Fire, and Flying Provinces, and allow the gods to curse whoever would break it. The name of our agreement is…

…

The Treaty of Light!"

 ***Historical Event: The Treaty of Light***

* * *

 **Fire Province: Blaze Desert(30F Mystery Dungeon) 4F: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Crustle's Caravan, Part 2**

 **Moonbrand Members Present: Magdalene, Gina, Bennett, Verden**

"Oh, Kyurem's balls, it's hot out…" Gina sweated as the caravan continued through the desert, led by Bennett, while Gina watched over the middle with Verden and Magdalene closer to the rear.

"Hey." Verden said as he slowed his pace to walk beside Magdalene. "Are you alright? I just want to make sure that if there's anything the rest of us can do to help, we do it."

"I'm fine…" Magdalene sped up to avoid walking besides Verden. "Why don't we switch spaces for now?"

"Um...I guess that's alright." Verden sighed as he looked around at the large expanse of desert, and an idea sparked in his head. " _Actually_ …" He realized as he brought his hands together and used a Substitute.

"Perfect." He grinned as he sent the clone to the other side of the wagon. "Now we have more lookout power."

"Stop." Bennett held out his hand. "The ground is shifting."

"Of course it is." Gina said. "That's how sand works."

"No, I mean it's-"

"Ah!" Verden perked up before looking behind him. "The substitute-...Everyone! Turn around! It's going to attack the rear!"

"Rahhh!" A drapion emerged on the back of what appeared to be a sand-swimming torterra as it threw a spiritomb towards the substitute which immediately disappeared upon contact with the pokemon.

"It looks like we get a free buffet boys!" The drapion laughed, causing both the torterra and spiritomb to laugh along with him.

"Hey! Look at those two!" The torterra shot razor leaves, lightly cutting both Gina and Magdalene. "They're nice an' attractive, and it would be a shame to let them get away, especially when such _dangerous_ pokemon like the Sapien Triage make their homes in this desert!"

"I don't know about you guys, but I say we kill them all and ransom whatever's in this caravan off to the highest bidder!" The spiritomb suggested. "Think of all the money we could make! We'd live like fuckin' kings!"

"Kill." Bennett heard a voice talking to him inside his head. "Kill _everyone_. They're only in your way… you know you can handle yours-"

"Bennett!" Verden snapped Bennett out of his trance.  
"Y-yeah?" The banette asked, trying to hide his shivering.

"Get ready!" Verden announced. "We're fighting these highwaymen! Remember to protect the caravan!"

The drapion grinned as he rushed towards Gina with a Cross-Poison attack, before tripping over a dune of sand.

Magdalene rushed through the gap in-between the wagons and let loose an Inferno that enveloped the spiritomb, who screeched out in agony as the flames began to melt his keystone with their intense heat, turning the once brown rock to a sooty black.

"You fuckin' little bitch!" He grunted. "Take this!" He created a large sanguine wind that blew towards Magdalene, loosening her scarf and revealing a celestial looking globe hanging around her neck.

"Whoa!" The drapion's eyes widened. "Never mind the caravan shit, that looks valuable as fuck, man!"

"No! It isn't!" Magdalene protested.

"Foul Play!" Bennett announced as he lunged towards the burned spiritomb, arms outstretched, only to also trip on a sand dune.

"Bennett!" Gina called out. "Sand! Remember how it works!"

"Heh. I'll knock the ice-bitch out first." The torterra grunted. "Then I'll get to work on the caravans!" He announced as he summoned a Leaf Storm from his tree that blew its way towards Gina, who easily leapt out of the direction of the leaves, remaining completely unaffected by the attack, before firing a Frost Breath back at her attacker, practically freezing the torterra solid before the ice shattered, and deep bloody gashes erupted from all around the bandit's body as he struggled to keep himself standing.

"Whew." Verden took out his toxic orb and clutched it in his hand as he began to lightly jump to gather energy, "Hrah!" He shouted as he chucked a Seed Bomb attack towards the spiritomb, though the move went wide, dusting up a lot of sand and sliding the pokemon closer to him.

Gina let loose an Ice Shard aimed at the wobbling torterra's skull, sending the head clean off the pokemon's body, and staining the sand around the body red with blood.

"Hey, fuck you, lady!" The spiritomb shouted as he attacked Gina with a Shadow Ball, which hit her square in the chest, knocking her back a few feet.

Magdalene fired a Flamethrower toward the drapion, intent on protecting her necklace, but the drapion easily dodged the attack as he moved towards her.

"Thief!" He smiled as he lunged at the vulpix, but with unnatural speed, she dodged the attack.

"No! You can't have it!" She yelled out.

"Allow me to mimic that attack!" Bennett laughed as he rushed toward the drapion, only to trip on a dune right before reaching his target.

"The Sand! You Idiot!"

"Hap!" Verden grunted as he shot another Seed Bomb at the weakened spiritomb while regaining his own energy from the toxic orb, but once again missing his mark.

"Hey, let me try!" Bennett called to Verden as he mimicked the Seed Bomb attack.

"Well at least he won't trip on the sand this time." Gina muttered under her breath as Bennett's Seed Bomb did what Verden's couldn't do, and hit the spiritomb with such force that the pokemon was sent flying across the desert sands, far past the horizon.

"Good…" The voice in Bennett's head spoke to him. "Kill...just like that...Kill them!"

"Hrah!" Verden threw a Leech Seed at the remaining drapion, though it fell short of its mark and fell into the sand, never to be seen again.

"Not your day, huh?" Bennett asked.

"At least I didn't trip in the sand like a buffoon." Verden smirked.

"Man, fuck this noise." The drapion realized as he used an Earthquake to make the desert ground shake so terribly hard that Magdalene and Gina were tossed around to the point of unconsciousness, and while both Verden and Bennett managed to avoid any serious damage from the attack, the same could not be said of the caravan wagons, three of which were swallowed up by sinkholes created in the sand during the attack, and only Crustle's wagon and one other cart remained.

"Well fuck, there goes so much of our pay." Verden cursed.

"Prepare to die." He announced as he turned to the drapion and his free hand began to glow. "Focus…"

"Gahh!" The drapion turned to scurry away, but was having trouble thanks to the torterra corpse lying in his way behind him.

"Me too!" Bennett grinned as his body began to glow for a Mimic.

"Bennett no-" Verden began to protest as Bennett ended up using an Earthquake attack.

And then a miracle happened.

The drapion was swallowed up by the desert sands moving from the Earthquake attack, and as he disappeared, the shifting sands brought up _all three_ of the missing wagons from the caravan.

"Arceus freakin' christ Bennett…" Verden went wide-eyed. "How did-?"

"I don't-...I don't know…" Bennett laughed. "I guess I'm just naturally good at... _shaking things up_."

And with that, Bennett too, passed out.

"Well...I guess I better tend to the wounded…" Verden sighed. "At least I'll have been able to do _something_ today."

Verden took out some reviver seeds he had bought for the mission and fed them to each of the other Moonbrand members, bringing everyone back up to their old selves again.

"Well, I think we all have a lot of talking to do with each other once we rest." Verden said, looking from Bennett to Magdalene. "But for now, let's head onwards."

Little did any of them realize, that the same smirking heliolisk had been watching them from afar.

* * *

 **Fire Province: Upper Ember Wilds(15F Mystery Dungeon): 7F: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Espionage in Emberguard, Part 2**

 **Moonbrand Members Present: Charlie, Aaron, Semora, Terune**

"We don't have time for this!" Semora sighed as she performed a Double Team of so much potency that it created 56 illusory clones of herself.

"Oh man…" The excadrill shuddered at the sight of the 57 sceptiles. "Y-you two can handle this. I'll head on ahead maybe…"

"It's just a Double Team…" The nidoqueen said to herself as she calmed a shaking arm. "You can handle it….you can handle it…"

She looked up at the pokemon.

"Ah." She noticed Aaron. "You're an easy kill." She noted as she lunged with a Superpower, running her large and powerful fist right through the excadrill beside her, tearing out his intestines. "Why did you try to run _that_ way?!" She yelled at the already dead excadrill.

Terune rose his arm up as he summoned a Grass Knot attack near the nidoqueen, who promptly stomped them back into the ground as she shook the excadrill's body off of her bloody arm.

"Don't worry, I'll kill him!" The tyrantrum said to the nidoqueen as he rushed through a few Semora clones at Aaron and leapt with jaws open wide for a Crunch attack, only for Aaron to lean to the side and easily dodge the attack.

Aaron scratched his head and turned around, before charging towards the tyrantrum, skull first, in an Iron Head that the bandit managed to roll to avoid with a smirk.

Charlie rushed up towards the tyrantrum as well, brandishing a Dragon Claw attack, slicing the tyrantrum so cleanly that his severed body parts and chopped organs could almost be mistaken for the food of a professional chef.

Terune shot a Will-o-Wisp from his mouth towards the remaining nidoqueen bandit, branding a burn in the shape of a crescent moon on her left leg.

"Gahh...little shit…" The nidoqueen cursed.

Semora saw the opportunity and leapt into action, each of her clones copying her movements as she prepared a leaf blade and lunged at the nidoqueen, slicing directly across the bandit's chest, causing her to cough up a heap of blood from the force.

Charlie looked over at the nidoqueen and rose a hand. 18 wisps surrounded the bandit and began to close in on her, until all at once, the Hidden Power attack rammed into the nidoqueen's body, and the pokemon fell over, dead.

"No wonder we were the ones sent on the most dangerous mission." Aaron rubbed the back of his head. "That didn't take long at all."

"No it did not." Semora agreed. "But they did warn that some monster was coming this way, so let's head towards-"

 **Fire Province: City of Emberguard: East Gates(Market Ring)**

"There you four are." Inkeri smiled as she greeted the Moonbrand who arrived at the gate. "I'll fill you in on everything you need to know about this mission tomorrow morning, but for now, you're travelers, escaping the war zone, and you've finally reached one of the outermost cities. Now is the time for drinks-" She looked down at Terune. "But maybe you're still a little too young for alcohol, so don't accept any drinks from strangers."

"But, the mission is just simple espionage right?"

"Wrong." Inkeri corrected a somewhat curious Charlie. "A hidden, savage, type 2 legendary hunt is _not_ a simple espionage mission."

* * *

 _ **AN: In this book, character interactions and relationships are going to be very important(Remember the EDCBASYX ranking system? Yeah, that), so as such, Everyone who owns an OC on Team Moonbrand, please send me one Moonbrand member(any member, even Conlan or Rudo) you would like your OC to interact with to raise their support rank one level.**_

 _ **The punishment if you don't is...well, your character is going to have a much harder time later on in the book. If the OC you chose is on the same mission as yours, the scene will be shown during the next chapter. If the OC is on a different mission than yours, the scene will be shown at the end of the next chapter.**_

 _ **If both OC creators choose each other's OCs, their support will grow two ranks if their current rank is not 'A' yet**_

 _ **Here is a list of all current Moonbrand Members(For your reference):**_

 _ **Conlan-Monferno(Male)**_

 _ **Rudo-Riolu(Female)**_

 _ **Magdalene-Vulpix(Female)**_

 _ **Charlie-Charmeleon(Female)**_

 _ **Aaron-Aggron(Male)**_

 _ **Gina-Glaceon(Female)**_

 _ **Bennett-Banette(Male)**_

 _ **Verden-Breloom(Male)**_

 _ **Terune-Phantump(Male)**_

 _ **Semora-Sceptile(Female)**_

 _ **Mandy-Mawile(Female)**_

 _ **Bravero-Blaziken(Male)**_

 _ **Ornia-Carbink(Female)**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: OC APP**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	3. Yes, Different Languages Exist

**Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Wildeburn Summit, Part 3**

 **Moonbrand Present: Bravero, Conlan, Mandy, Ornia, Rudo**

 _ **Ornia and Mandy: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Ah, good, another fairy type is on this team." Ornia said as she hovered up to Mandy. "I was worried that I would be the only one."

"I hate to break this to you, but I'm from the Steel Province." Mandy responded.

"It matters not what province you come from, or truly, what type you are either. I am simply expressing joy in that I have at least one teammate here, right now, who shares a type with me. Tell me, have you any temples to Tapu Lele in your hometown?"  
"Pfft…" Mandy held back a laugh. "No, we don't have any temples to gods other than Arceus in Southshore."

"A tragedy that you must have grown up in a city that is nothing more than a den of heathens then. If you wish to cleanse yourself of those dirty inferior deities, I will be happy to show you the way of those in the Temple of Tapu Lele." And with that, Ornia was off.

"Well that was...unexpected." Mandy said as she made sure she had everything ready, before heading to the foyer to join the others about to leave the keep.

* * *

 _ **Arc Proper**_

"So here is the plan, milady." Cochrane informed as he attempted his utmost to maintain a rigid posture while he spoke to a somewhat confused Tashia, who wasn't conscious to hear Reshiram's words, and was confused from the second half of the negotiations. "Deirdre and Concordia will leave for Fable, while Gertrude and the two comfey remain with us to head back to Lightgrasp. Hadria will send Razr, Xenon, and Kavosa with us, while she and Glimmershine will return to the Dark Province, in order to prepare for our eventual arrival there. And we already know, thanks to the metal-jawed noivern that he and his zekrom partner will be assisting us in Lightgrasp as well, though all of the Flying Province entourage will be travelling with us back to Lightgrasp, as it is on a direct route back to their own province."

"Zeria is already on her way towards the capital." Nezarix announced. "Although, an absolute goddess like her may be enough assistance already."

"What was that about a goddess?" Ornia asked.

"He didn't mean any actual god." Faden roughly patted the carbink on the head. "It's just normal for a pokemon to talk that way about the love of his life."

"Ugh." Mandy covered her nose as she walked outside to see the large expanse of molten ground and magma lakes and rivers surrounding the soot-covered town of Wildeburn. "The smell of sulfur is overpowering!"

"Yep." Rudo agreed as she quickly covered her nose and mouth with her paws and huddled towards Conlan, who, thanks to his fire typing, didn't seem to be that affected by the aroma of the settlement. "We were lucky when we arrived, there wasn't any wind, but with even this breeze, there's such a huge increase in the smell of sulfur going up my nose!"

"Just be glad it isn't raining." Bravero contributed to the conversation as he observed the dark red clouds overhead. "I've never seen these before, but they can't be good news."

"Oh, the red clouds are perfectly natural here in Wildeburn." Fernando responded as he flew closer to the ground to join the conversation as well. "They aren't truly red. It's just the light being given off by the magma getting trapped by the thickness of the clouds in the sky. I agree though, they do look ominous."

"Huh." Gertrude looked around as Caress and Comfort both freshened the air around her with Sweet Scent. "I don't see many locals around. Would one of you Fire Province locals please inform me if it is a common occurrence for you lot to lock yourselves in your homes all day long?"

"No, this isn't common at all." Cochrane looked around. "The Fire Province is very community-oriented. There should be pokemon everywhere, even in a small town like this one."

"Ah!" A salazzle walked down an intersecting road and turned her head to see the entourage. "Queen Tashia, Cochrane, there you are! The baron's been looking for you!"

"The baron?" Conlan asked.

"Satinka, why are you here?" Cochrane asked, his brows furrowed in frustration that his time 'alone' with the queen had been interrupted by his coworker. "Inkeri only sent me out here."

"I didn't come here for you, don't worry." Satinka clicked her tongue, annoyed, before turning to Tashia. "My queen, baron Alvar, the one who so graciously allowed us to use Wildeburn Keep as a place for your summit, humbly requests your attendance at an event he has prepared for you."

"An event prepared for me?" Tashia repeated, still somewhat confused as to what she was even doing anymore.

"And not just you" Satinka nodded before turning to Fernando. "You as well. It is not often Wildeburn gets visited by even one province ruler, let alone two. As such…"

"I've prepared this arena for a tournament in your honor!" Alvar, a reshiram whose white fur was somewhat stained with soot, exclaimed as he motioned with his wing-like arms to a remarkably cleanly kept stadium considering the surrounding biome.

"A tournament in our honor huh?" Fernando grinned. "Well, I'd be honored to watch it."

"Well you see…" Alvar laughed a bit as he scratched his head. "I'm a little short competitors, and not even the prize of 250,000 poke is enough to convince any locals to go up against our champion. Aleron is a terrakion soldier who's helped keep this town safe for years, and will continue to do so. He's courageous, determined, and just a bit reckless. Only a pawniard, and a decidueye, both from out of the province, have also signed up for the tournament as of now, and thirteen slots still remain open."

"Oh, we can solve that." Satinka smiled as she pointed at everyone else. "You can sign up too!"

"One…" She pointed at Nezarix, whose eyes went wide. Why was he being volunteered so freely for a tournament by a soldier from a province that wasn't his?

"Two…" Satinka pointed to Faden, whose eyes went equally wide, sharing the same sentiment.

"Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven…" Satinka pointed at Conlan, Rudo, Mandy, Bravero, and Ornia in that order.

"Eight, Nine, Ten..." She pointed at Razr, Xenon, and Kavosa, who all looked at each other, more in eager anticipation of winning all that money than any surprise at being signed up. It would go a long way towards furthering their mercenary band's career as an actual band as well after all.

"Eleven…" She pointed at Cochrane, who, while glaring at her, stood up to accept the challenge.

"Twelve…" She pointed to herself, as though her participation in the tournament was a given. "And…Thirteen." She pointed at Gertrude.

"Excuse me?" The shiny gardevoir crossed her arms. "Why in the name of Xerneas would I participate in a tournament honoring any royalty other than queen Deirdre or king Paulo?"

"Don't tell me that your province wouldn't appreciate the 250,000 poke you'd get for winning." Satinka laughed. "Or are you afraid of getting dirty? I guess the stereotype that fairy province locals cry when a speck of dust falls on them must be true."

"You can egg me on as much as you want, ignorant lizard, and I won't give you the time of day, but your province isn't the only one that stands up for itself. Insult the pokemon of Fable again, and I will end you. Fine. I'll join your tournament."

Tournament Contestants:

#1: Aleron, Terrakion (Male)

#2: Pierce, Pawniard (Male)

#3: Jaslynn, Decidueye (Female)

#4: Nezarix, Noivern (Male)

#5: Faden, Feraligatr (Male)

#6: Conlan, Monferno (Male)

#7: Rudo, Riolu (Female)

#8: Mandy, Mawile (Female)

#9: Bravero, Blaziken (Male)

#10: Ornia, Carbink (Female)

#11: Razr, Zoroark (Male)

#12: Xenon, Sceptile (Male)

#13: Kavosa, Krookodile (Male)

#14: Cochrane, Charizard (Male)

#15: Satinka, Salazzle (Female)

#16: Gertrude, Gardevoir (Female)

Round 1 Match-Ups:

#6 VS #15

#13 VS #9

#10 VS #16

#7 VS #2

#4 VS #1

#8 VS #12

#11 VS #3

#5 VS #14

"Oooh!" Satinka's eyes began to sparkle. "I get to go up against the human? And first? This will be fun!"

The pawniard, Pierce, looked over at Rudo with a confident smirk. "You might think you lucked out, but trust me, when I'm done with you, you'll be too scared to fight ever again! I'm just that good!"

"I've defeated criminal pawniard far tougher than you look by the hundreds. Don't start something you won't be able to finish."

"And there it is." Pierce grinned, unaware of the irony in his next statement. "You should watch out for that overconfidence."

"The leader of Team Horizon is up against me, huh?" Aleron the terrakion laughed boisterously as he looked over at Nezarix. "It'll be a great show of my potential when I defeat the leader of a Royal Rank mercenary band in one on one combat!"

"You there." Jaslynn pointed a wing at Razr. "You are my first opponent correct? Know that while you may have the advantage in type, your victory will not come. I entered in this tournament to win the prize money, and I will not yield it to anyone."

"Sorry if I disagree with you, but that money's going to team Soulwind, and no one else." Razr grinned.  
"That's right." Kavosa smirked as he looked over at Bravero. "I'll defeat this fire type, and then defeat the winner of the first match after that the same way!"

"You underestimate how much training I've gone through." Bravero's brow furrowed. "If you had to live your life watching your back in case of an attack from the Azure Syndicate, you'd know what I'm talking about."

"I'm up against…" Mandy shivered as she looked over at Xenon, who seemed to be calmly meditating to prepare for the fights ahead. "That sceptile from merc madness who mega-evolved? How am I supposed to-?"  
"Worrying in such an agonizing and ugly fashion doesn't suit a fairy type." Gertrude crossed her arms as she looked at Mandy. "Are you sure you can handle the mercenary life, mawile? You'd be more suited to a labor job, or perhaps being a housewife."

"What?!" Mandy's jaw on top of her head snapped angrily as she turned to face Gertrude. "I was feeling nervous, but you know what? I'm not anymore, because I want to fight you! I'll wipe that condescending scowl right off your dumb face!"

"You unfortunately will not have the satisfaction." Ornia positioned herself between Mandy and Gertrude. "The gardevoir will fall to me as I demonstrate to my new team that there is a reason why queen Deirdre chose me as a prize."

"Stay out of this, Ornia." Gertrude huffed. "In fact, all of you stay out of my way. When I win the money from the tournament, I'm becoming a Fairy Province noble. I can already see the suitors lining up at my mansion's door."

"Talk about living in a fantasy world." Rudo whispered to Conlan, who was frozen in place. His first match was against a trained soldier. Not just any soldier either, it was against Satinka, who was second only to Inkeri in terms of command when it came to the Lightgrasp Military.

"I can't believe I'm not until the end." Faden sighed, honestly somewhat disappointed as he looked over at Cochrane, who was busy clearly psyching himself up for the upcoming fights. "I'm not even up against anyone that strong either, am I? A charizard? I have to wait so long to get into the ring, but the match will probably only last a couple moves at the most. Oh well, I guess once I win that one, I can fight either Razr or that decidueye girl. Hopefully she'd be tough enough to not disappoint. But still...I'm more worried about Nezarix." Faden looked over to where Nezarix and Aleron were having some friendly boasts before the tournament.

"Aleron's allegedly defended this town for years, and while he may not be a mercenary, there's no mistaking the fearlessness of that pokemon."

"The first round of matches is about to begin!" Alvar announced as he quickly looked to Tashia on his right and then to Fernando on his left. "Our first matchup is Contestant #6, Conlan the monferno, VS Contestant #15, Satinka the salazzle! Please take to the arena!"

Conlan and Satinka walked to the center of the arena, a large circle of flattened molten rock, still warm to the touch. It felt far different than the Merc Madness arena had. Less artificial and a lot more natural.

"Are you ready, new monferno?" Satinka smiled. "I certainly am."

"These matches will continue until one pokemon or the other is either unable to battle from being knocked out or forfeits of their own accord. The tournament is single-elimination, and the winner will be granted 250,000 poke as the grand prize!" Alvar announced. "Match 1, Conlan the monferno vs Satinka the salazzle! Pokemon ready...begin!"

"What's wrong? Don't you want the first move?" Satinka taunted as Conlan stayed frozen momentarily, still trying to process what was happening. He was in a tournament now, against a trained and professional soldier. He thought back to his chess match with B in nowhere. The one in which he had spent too much time thinking. In that case-

"Well then-" Satinka laughed. "How about a-"

Within an instant, Conlan disappeared from Satinka's sight, before reappearing right behind her.

"Well, if you insist I go first…" Conlan grinned as he directly hit Satinka on the small of her back with a Mach Punch, sending sound reverberations through the air before the salazzle rocketed forwards, only just able to use her feet to create enough friction to stop herself.

This was it then, Conlan thought to himself. He couldn't waste time thinking about what to do. Like Reshiram had told him back in the keep, he needed to put more trust in his power as a human turned pokemon, and this would be the battle where he started.

* * *

 **Fire Province: Blaze Desert(30F Mystery Dungeon): 9F: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Crustle's Caravan, Part 3**

 **Moonbrand Present: Bennett, Gina, Magdalene, Verden**

 _ **Gina and Verden: Support Rank A Reached (From a Double-Rank Up)**_

"Hey, Verden." Gina said to the other pokemon keeping watch while the others all slept. "I've been agonizing over this for a while. You told me it was a pity that I didn't have long-term plans. Mind explaining for me what you meant?"

"Nothing really." Verden replied. "It's just that, well, I find kind of sad to see a Pokemon so afraid of commitment."

"Whoa now, don't go putting words in my mouth!" Gina responded. "I'm here on this mercenary band, aren't I? It's not commitment I'm afraid of, it's death. I hate thinking about it, the fact that my life could end tomorrow, or the next day, or even in a few minutes if we're terribly unlucky. You used to be a slaver, you know how it is. Keep short term plans for your own survival. You have to look out for number 1, right?"

"Actually…" Verden looked towards the campfire the two were sitting around. "I tend to protect others before I worry about my personal needs. It's kind of why I wasn't immediately ostracized from my brother's trafficking operations. There were a lot of otherwise good pokemon simply trying to make ends meat in that organization."

"But you still resolved to ask for their deaths anyways? That's cold. You'd make a good Ice-type."

"Says the Ice-type."

"Hey, I'm not saying what you did was wrong." Gina laughed a bit. "Sticking to morals takes a lot of courage that I wish I had."

"I think not wanting to die is pretty normal, actually." Verden laughed back. "And if you're in the mercenary business, you have to have a fair amount of courage."

"Heehee." Gina giggled. "Verden, where were you when my first teammate died all those years ago? You might have been able to save me from my current reputation as the cursed glaceon."

"And you would have been a big help in getting me to stand up for myself if I had run into you while I was still a slaver." Verden chuckled. "But we're both here now, with pasts that we regret."

"Hey, you know what?" Gina asked.

"What?" Verden asked back.

"I think I might have just made a long-term plan. I'll help out this mercenary band until all these giant problems go away, and then, when I get enough money from missions, I'll settle down somewhere. Maybe find a nice husband, and just relax in peace for the rest of my life."

"That definitely sounds like a good long-term plan." Verden noticed Gina's smile as she thought of it. "You already look happy with it."

"Mmhmm!" She nodded. "Hey, who knows, maybe you'll finally have a lover of your own by that point! I can help you look for one if you want!"

"I uh-" Verden's somewhat red face was camouflaged by the light from the fire. "I'll have to think about that offer for sure. But for now, let's just promise to have each other's backs in battle, alright?"

"Heehee. It's funny seeing you flustered like that." Gina snickered. "Sure, you can count on me."

"Likewise." Verden smiled as Magdalene and Bennett rose from their sleep to take over keeping watch.

* * *

 _ **Magdalene and Bennett: Support Rank B Reached**_

"Hey Magdalene…" Bennett said as he lay back and look at the clear night sky, full of bright stars, while Gina and Verden slept. "I took this battle seriously, like you keep telling me."

"From what I saw, you were tripping on sand every two steps." Magdalene was not at all interested in wherever Bennett was going with this conversation. "Be quiet and keep watch like you're supposed to be doing."

"Don't you want to know why I tripped?" Bennett asked.

"No." Magdalene wasted no time answering and her serious face lit by the campfire certainly helped drive the point home.

Bennett gulped. "Alright, alright. Here I thought you of all pokemon would be willing to at least listen to a problem I've been having recently."

"Normally, you'd be right, Bennett, and maybe if in a few weeks, you haven't gotten us killed, and we're back in Lightgrasp, I'll listen, but right now? I just want to complete our shift on watch and then head back to sleep."

"Killed huh…" Bennett said as he put his hand to his head, as if to clutch it in pain, as he looked down at the campfire. "Yeah, I hope I don't get us killed either."

And without so much as a warning, he fell on his side and began to sleep.

Magdalene stared, unamused with the development, before heading over to where Gina was sleeping and nudging the glaceon awake.

* * *

 _ **Gina and Magdalene: Support Rank C Reached**_

"Huh?" Gina yawned as she stretched her body out before standing up. "Why did you wake me up?"

"Bennett fell asleep on the job."

"Poor soul."

Magdalene's eyebrow rose. "That is not what I expected you to say."

Gina smiled. "Let's talk about something else. Conversing about pokemon like him can make a lady sad, you know."

"I don't follow." Magdalene cocked her head.

"You know…" Gina shuffled her paws a bit. "Special pokemon…"

"I don't think that's Bennett's problem." Magdalene's eyes squinted. "Why did I wake up you and not Verden again?"

"Because we're mission board besties?" Gina asked sweetly before her face turned slightly sinister and her smile faded. "You remember right? You hid that globe thing on your neck from me back then. Care to explain what it is, mission board bestie?"

"Why did you emphasize-" Magdalene shook her head, realizing it was better to not get hung up on the details. "I'm sorry Gina, but I really don't know anything about it other than it's pretty. I originally wanted to join this team to find out what it is, because it feels like it could be powerful if used correctly."

"Hmm…" Gina mulled over in her mind how to approach the situation before deciding that, as long as Moonbrand was powerful, she would be safe, and therefore, if Magdalene's item was one of immense power, there was no harm in helping Magdalene learn how to use it. "Alright then. Like I said back at the mission board when we had our last big conversation, I like doing lost item missions, so if I run into any collectors, I can ask them what they know and pass the information on to you."

"I guess that's alright." Magdalene smiled. "Thank you, Gina."

"Don't thank me." Gina yawned. "I'm about to knock out." She kicked Bennett awake before heading back to her resting spot and falling asleep again.

* * *

 _ **Arc Proper:**_

 **10F**

"So, we still have...how long to go before we're out of this desert?" Gina asked from under the personal hail cloud she had once again resorted to using to help her cope with the heat, while Verden wiped his own sweat with the toxic orb he was carrying with him.

Bennett, however, was getting the worst of it. He had no means of cooling himself off, and the constant chattering of the voice in his head to "Kill...kill...kill!" his legs were beginning to give out.

"H-hey…" He turned around towards the other Moonbrand members. "Maybe someone else can take point? I really need to rest I think…"

"Did you kick him too hard?" Magdalene asked Gina in a whisper.

"More like not hard enough." Gina muttered back.

"I'll take point." Verden offered as he created a substitute for Bennett to ride on while he moved up to the front of the caravan. "Bennett, eat some food, and drink some water."

"Hey Gina…" Bennett held out an already empty glass from his sprawled position atop substitute Verden's head. "Can you put some hail in this, please?"

"Only because I don't want to be responsible for your death." Gina said as she walked closer to the glass and allowed some of her personal cloud's hail to pour into the container.

It took about twenty seven seconds for the ice to melt completely into water, which Bennett then began to drink.

"Ugh…" He wiped his own brow. "I'm so sorry guys. I guess I'm not feeling so hot today."

"That's it!" Gina dropped her hail cloud and stormed back over to Bennett. "If you're going to be nothing but a liability and plague our lives with your crimes against language, maybe I won't feel bad if you die!"

"W-wait, stop!" Cassius exclaimed as he peeked his head out of his wagon. "There is no need for this fighting. We're almost out of the driest part of the desert! Just a few more floors, and there's an oasis. Past that, the heat should be fine for all types of pokemon! Please hold on for a little while longer!"

"Fine." Gina sighed as she recreated her own personal hail cloud, though it was significantly smaller than her first one.

"What's the deal?" She asked. "I think it's actually getting-"

"Oh, right." Cassius remembered. "It's hottest right before you reach the oasis, so be careful to not exhaust yourself too much!"

 **14F**

Bennett was barely holding onto his consciousness by a thread. He could still move around, but not much else. Everything was groggy like it was all one giant fever dream. Wait, was it all one giant fever dream? He'd never dreamed he'd have a fever this bad, but now was not the time for puns and wordplay, even in thoughts. Gina and Magdalene were both visibly getting tired as well, Verden however, had managed to somehow adapt to the desert environment, and was still at full performing capacity.

As the caravan reached the room near the stairs, they appeared.

"Hey, down there!" One of the ten vibrava flying by noticed. "That caravan is probably loaded with goods to steal and sell!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Another of the ten vibrava announced. "I can't wait to raid the whole thing!"

"We have the numbers advantage!" Yet another vibrava exclaimed. "If we overwhelm them, we'll be able to steal enough supplies from the caravan to sell to the Sapien Triage!"

"Crap." Verden looked back at everyone else, especially the severely exhausted Bennett. "It's unfortunate guys, but get ready! Here comes a vibrava swarm!"

"B-Blizzard!" Gina announced as she concentrated as much of her energy as she could and managed to both freeze up and destroy two of the attacking vibrava, the remaining eight, however, had the common sense to avoid the ice-type pokemon at all costs.

Magdalene took a deep breath and attempted to shoot a Hypnosis towards the entire vibrava swarm as a whole, only to fail terribly, as the psychic rings burnt up in the intense heat.

The vibravas, rather than foolishly attack any of the trained mercenaries, rushed toward the wagons of the caravan, many of them gathering leg-fulls of valuable items from each wagon, going so far as to completely empty the second wagon in the lineup, while taking plenty from all other wagons save for the fifth one. The only exception was a reckless vibrava who ended up flying at top speed into the side of the wagon, splatting himself against the wagon wall.

"Hup!" Verden shot a Seed Bomb towards the highest concentration of vibrava, one of which was smart enough to notice it and batted the seed far across the desert before it finally did explode.

"Hgnh…" Bennett rose from atop Verden's substitute, before disappearing into the shadow of the caravan.

"Bennett…" Verden mumbled mostly to himself. "I know you want to help fight but...you really shouldn't push yourself…"

"Stop ruining this mission!" Gina yelled as she summoned another Blizzard, though quite clearly, the vibrava were aware of her attack and dispersed to avoid the Blizzard before reconvening in on the area.

Magdalene took a cue from the intense heat and let loose an Inferno attack, managing to kill a good four more of the vibrava, three of which dropped the items they had stolen, the last of which had yet to retrieve anything.

"The merchandise!" Verden exclaimed as he quickly caught each object as they all fell before the sand swallowed them up.

"Hraah!" Bennett let out a desperate Phantom Force attack from the shadow of the caravan wagons, slashing at the sole vibrava left to not have any items. The pokemon fluttered back as it winced in pain and looked around, before nodding and zooming in towards the 4th wagon of the caravan, picking up, somehow, all the remaining merchandise in the wagon. The rest of the vibrava, with all the loot they had taken, rushed away from sight, with every Moonbrand member either too exhausted or too preoccupied to do anything to stop them. Only the one lagging vibrava remained.

Gina rushed up to the vibrava, and blew a Frost Breath right in its stupid face. She had just seen its cronies take off with so much of the caravan's loot, and she would be damn if she allowed the monetary reward to lower itself any further. As the vibrava froze and shattered, it's merchandise all fell towards the ground. "Magdalene, Bennett!" She called out.

Magdalene jumped up and managed to grab about half of the items from the air, but there was still plenty left.

"Forget the items!" The voice inside Bennett's head urged him. "Kill them instead! You can do it you know. Then you can sell the items for money and become more powerful!"

"Gahhh!" Bennett yelled as he jumped with all his might. "Get out of my head!" He grabbed all the remaining merchandise before the sands could claim them and landed on his bottom.

"Well, this sucks…" Verden said as he did inventory after putting the rescued items away. "We lost two whole carts' worth from that ambush!"

"T-true, and that's a shame." Cassius nodded. "But the oasis is just beyond those stairs there! It should give all some much needed rest and relaxation!"

"Unfortunately for you five…" The smirking heliolisk watching from a distance laughed to himself. "You won't get any rest or relaxation from that oasis! Kek!"

* * *

 **Fire Province: City of Emberguard: Residential District: The Gilded Deerling Gambling Den: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Espionage in Emberguard, Part 3**

 **Moonbrand Present: Aaron, Charlie, Semora, Terune**

The City of Emberguard, located in the arid wilds of the western Fire Province, just north of the Blaze Desert, is home to a population of roughly 11,000 pokemon which, while small for a city, is still roughly twice the population of the Fire Province capital of Lightgrasp. The sandstone buildings against the scrublands of the wilds where the city resides give off the impression of a very old and established town, which would not be wrong. The city is regarded as a wonderful trading hub between the Dark, Ground, Fighting, and Fire Provinces, and this can be seen in the design of their architecture. The buildings are all somewhat crude and uneven, like durant mounds, with some spires reaching high into the air, while others are naught but well-made holes in the ground, but they're made with utmost care and the sandstone supporting them keeps them intact even during the occasional earthquake or thunderstorm that the city suffers a couple times a year. While the city does have its share of problems, type relations is not one of them. Pokemon of all types and all walks of life can be found living in Emberguard's 4 major districts, separated like rings on a tree trunk. Many of these pokemon become merchants in the city's outmost district, the Market District, where they make a living by selling items of their homeland to all manner of travelers and locals alike. Those who make enough money to purchase property in the city move into the second outmost district, the Residential District, where all manner of residencies can be purchased, from tiny hovels to two-story homes. In addition, temples and taverns can be accessed in this district as well. Some pokemon skilled in certain crafts can set up shop in the Artisan District, the second innermost district of the city, where not only can they practice and improve their craft, but they can also charge for lessons and make enough of a name for themselves to catch the eye of the pokemon that live in the city's innermost district, the Nobility District, where only the most elite of Fire Province society are allowed to venture without having made an appointment well prior to the visit. In the center of the Nobility District is none other than Calbridge Hold, the palace where Visha, the volcarona duke of emberguard resides. Among the residents of Emberguard, Visha is considered a fair and just ruler, and is widely respected among his subjects. Unfortunately for everyone, Emberguard's current condition is not the sandstone utopia it's known to be. Rather, the outer districts are run-down and destitute thanks to the damage done from the recent Obsidian Legion attack. That has not, however, stopped the residents of the Nobility District from engaging in the political intrigue that has made Emberguard so infamous among Fire Province cities. Those in power in Emberguard are among the shrewdest pokemon in the province, but in recent months, all manner of rumors and scandals have been circulating about many of the notable names in the province, and the most popular one by far is the rumor that Aradia, a braixen noblewoman and one of many bachelorettes vying for Visha's hand in marriage, has hidden a cannibalistic type 2 legendary in her manor, and her silence towards the press does not do her any favors. It is this rumor that Inkeri and the four present Moonbrand members have come to investigate, and their search has led them to the Gilded Deerling, a tavern known among the Market District to be a high-stakes gambling den.

* * *

 _ **Charlie and Semora: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Hey." Charlie tapped Semora on her dark green shoulder as the two sat at a table while Inkeri and Aaron placed an order at the bar of the tavern.

Semora's eye moved towards Charlie, but her head remained stiff, refusing to turn and face the charmeleon directly.

"Yes?" Semora asked.

"What were you doing in the mystery dungeon where Conlan found you?" Charlie's eyes were narrow with suspicion.

"I was completing my own mission at the time." Semora's eyes narrowed to a similar level. "I would appreciate you not pry into my personal life."

"I'm only trying to look out for the team." Charlie crossed her arms.

"In that case, let me leave you with this as I head to the bathroom…" Semora announced as she stood herself up from her seat. "You can learn as much about me as you want…" She turned her head to finally face Charlie, and she could feel the seriousness in the sceptile's voice. "As long as you're prepared to die afterwards."

Charlie gulped as Semora left the area.

"That was...not the most ideal conversation…"

* * *

 _ **Terune and Charlie: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Um...Charlie?" Terune shyly floated towards the charmeleon waiting alone at the table. "Have you been...looking for this?" He held up Charlie's book, causing her to, for a split second, reel back in terror, before quickly snatching the book from Terune's hands. "Yes, thank you for returning the book to me and for not reading it-"

"I read it."

Charlie froze. It was over for her now, wasn't it? A kid had read her book. Well, maybe he didn't quite understand what he was reading.

"Is there a reason that the main character continues to do um...those things? With the mega charizard character even though she's married to someone else? He's not even nice to-"  
"Terune…" Charlie tried her hardest to force a smile as her brow twitched. "Would you mind terribly if we stopped talking about this? We have a mission to perform and no one should have fiction literature on their mind."

"Oh, yes'm. Alright." Terune nodded before floating off.

"Whew…" Charlie relaxed in her seat. "Safe….for now anyways. Still wish he hadn't read it."

* * *

 _ **Arc Proper**_

Aaron stared down the contact across the table he was sitting at intently. "So...a roserade in Emberguard eh?" He asked. "We're a long way from both the Grass and Poison Provinces."

"Yes, we are." The roserade nodded back as she hid her mouth with her red and blue flowers, careful to not let Aaron see anything other than her intent stare back at him. "You are a far cry away from the Ice Province as well."

Aaron nearly gasped, before stopping himself, realizing that letting this pokemon see any surprised emotion would shift the tone of the conversation, and he could end up swindled.

"How's he doing?" Charlie asked Inkeri as she, Terune, and Semora all returned to the table.

"About as poorly as I'd expect he'd do." Inkeri sighed as she relaxed back in her chair, putting her arms behind her head and crossing her legs.

"Let's get down to business then…" The roserade said as she held out one hand, careful to use the other to continue hiding her mouth. "Take ten petals, and place them to the spaces I point on the table."

Aaron nodded and did as he was told. "I see…" The roserade looked at the petals on the table in front of her before looking up at Aaron. "You plucked them a little roughly, so their meaning is hazier than should be, but I will do my best to read them, in honor of our mutual friend. As expected, this center petal covering your marker is symbolizing your obedience to authority, even those you may not trust." She shot Aaron a glance again, trying to read his expression, though once again, Aaron managed to remain stoic enough for the procedure to continue. "This second petal, crossing over the first one, tells me that you are being opposed, for good or bad, by forces of emotional entanglement here in this city. There will be no painless way to overcome it either. This third petal, closest me, lets me know that you hope for this reading to point you in the path of the power to overcome a great threat that you yourself are not fully sure even exists." The roserade's eyes widened as she moved her eyes to the fourth petal.

"Tell me, aggron, what did it feel like?"

"What did what feel like?" Aaron could feel his stoic face beginning to slip.

"Having another act as your heart, of course." The roserade brought both of her arms up to her mouth to hide it again, though this time she included short-lived giggles until Aaron motioned for her to move on.

"Well, I knew about your heart specifically from that fifth petal." The roserade pointed to the fifth petal Aaron had placed down, "And in the very near future, you will meet a pokemon selfish, shallow, and self-satisfied. He will be the influence that brings your goal to its climax."

The roserade then brought her blue bouquet down to point at the last four petals, all in a column. "Right now, you believe that by completing your assignment, you will secure wealth and prosperity for pokemon that are important to you, Your friends however, seem to have also instilled in you a desire to use this mission of yours in order to help those in the city with physical and financial hardships. Oh, I can see it in your face now that the petal says so. You are feeling confused, vulnerable, and without defenses deep within what you feel is enemy territory. I understand your concerns of course, but this last petal...it is giving me a strong feeling that I should advise you against attempting to change the current course of time. For if it follows the flow as it should, the end result of the mission you have undertaken will birth something wonderful. While not necessarily pertaining to you specifically, this ordeal you are faced with will in the formation of a bond based on love, honor, and trust, signifying the end of isolation."

The roserade gathered her petals, while still holding a bouquet to hide her mouth, and stood up.

"Now that I've assisted you, I must be off. Give our mutual friend my regards."

The roserade rushed out of The Gilded Deerling, and all of a sudden, the music began to die down.

"Something isn't right." Inkeri bit her lip as she looked around the gambling den. The addicts had all gotten up and left the building as well.

"Aaron." She walked up to Aaron. "Did you do anything that would-?"

"Go, go go!" An Alola form golem was calling out as a bisharp, delcatty, simipour, dragonite, and spinda all rushed into the gambling den, followed by five savage bergmite, clearly trained by the Emberguard Guard as war-beasts. "Aaron the aggron and accompanying Moonbrand members, for defying the UGM while under its employ, you are hereby arrested!"

"This is tauros shit!" Aaron called out angrily. "Inkeri, tell them that the Fire Province isn't part of the-" Aaron's jaw dropped when he realized that Inkeri had disappeared in the commotion.

"Well fuck you, too!"

"How are we going to be able to fight all of them?" Charlie asked, somewhat worried, as another five savage bergmite moved past the sapient guards.

"Now!" A voice from the roof of the tavern shouted, and down dropped a mewtwo that Semora managed to recognize, accompanied by a shiny female haxorus.

"Who the fuck are these guys? We don't have to fight them to do we?" Aaron asked.

"Shut up,and focus on the guards!" The haxorus informed them. "Don't you think it's strange that they're being led by a golem? They're Obsidian Legion lackeys, trying to keep your province fighting itself!"

"Can we trust either of these pokemon though?" Charlie asked Semora, who happened to be the closest one to her.

"I can vouch for the mewtwo. He is a fine healer, and hopefully can hold his own in close quarters battles as well."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm Hextra, and this is Micah. Know that we're done playing the 'getting to know you' game, let's fight already!"

Semora lunged for the bisharp, staying closer close to the floor with a Low Kick of her leg, hitting the bisharp in his shin, but the pokemon remained stalwart and standing, bracing through the pain of the attack. The delcatty beside the bisharp did some quick thinking before looking around the room, and deciding on Aaron as the enemy she wanted to fight the least. "You know, steel stud, there's a much more preferable way to resolve this." She beamed a big smile at him as she strutted closer. "How about we behave like adults here?"

"I'm not falling for that shit." Aaron was not fazed by the Attract attempt.

"Well said." Micah nodded at Aaron as he teleported into the concentration of Obsidian Legion lackeys and threw a punch at the dragonite, who effortlessly dodge the blow.

"Hraah!" The simipour guard jumped on Charlie, and gashed perpendicular to her scar with four powerful Fury Swipes.

Meanwhile, the dragonite brought his fist back at Micah in a Dragon Rush, knocking the mewtwo back to the other side of the tavern.

"How dare you touch me." The bisharp gashed Semora with a Fury Cutter attack, knocking her back into Aaron, who managed to catch her before she fell completely.

Charlie blew a Flamethrower onto a charging Metal Claw attack and used the combination to uppercut the Simipour with it, causing the pokemon to stagger back, and Charlie to become un-grappled from his grip.

Charlie looked at her hand, and smiled, proud that her 'molten claw' technique had paid off.

"Feel my Thunder Punch!" The golem yelled as he rushed at electrified fist towards Aaron, who managed to toss Semora out of the way before the punch hit him incredibly close to where his chest cannon operated.

"Gahhh…" Aaron braced himself, trying his hardest to keep from letting his chest cannon open up.

Hextra charged the dragonite with a Dragon Claw attack, and sent the poor soul flying out past the city gates, she attacked with such force and fury.

"U-um…" Aaron gulped.

The spinda Thrashed her way into Hextra, with almost the same force that Hextra had used to attack the dragonite, sending the haxorus careening through the tavern until she crashed into the far wall.

"What the fuck...kind of...Thrash was that?" She coughed to catch her breath. Before she could truly process anything however, the bergmite, all at once, attacked with Blizzards, washing the whole tavern over in ice and snow, and even managing to freeze Aaron completely.

"Uh-um...Rock Slide!" Terune called out as he summoned a barrage of rocks and chucked them at the guards and bergmite. The bisharp and the simipour both managed to dodge the Rock Slide, while the rest of the guards and a good six of the bergmite were all hit. The six hit bergmite were crushed to bits under the falling rocks, while the guards themselves merely took a bruising.

"Heal Bell!" Micah announced as a hollow sound reverberated through the area and Aaron's ice shattered, allowing the aggron to move again.

"Fuck that kid!" The bisharp cursed as he lunged at Terune with another Fury Cutter, sending the phantump up into the ceiling of the tavern so forcefully that the entire building shook.

Hextra, still groggy from the mass of Blizzard attacks, rushed at the bisharp with a Brick Break, only to have it be dodged.

"Heh, say goodnight, charmeleon!" The golem laughed as he jumped up in the air and dive-bombed towards Charlie. "Heavy Slam!"

Charlie was only just barely able to roll out of the way to avoid being crushed to death.

"Hraah!" The spinda continued with her Thrash attack, this time jumping straight through Terune, doing nothing other than making the ghost type pokemon feel uncomfortable.

Charlie stood up and attacked the golem with a Hidden Power, but as she did so, the Golem grabbed Aaron and tossed him into the line of attack, before rolling away.

"Gah!" Aaron shouted.  
"Aaron, be aware of your surroundings!" Charlie snapped.

"I know!" Aaron yelled as he rushed the golem with an Iron Head, shattering the Obsidian Legion lackey to pieces.

"Oh, aren't you a handsome young pokemon?" The delcatty tried for an Attract on Terune as he freed himself from the ceiling of the tavern. "Why don't we agree to not fight each other, alright, hun?"

"Uh-Alright…" Terune forget to drop down as he suddenly felt more mesmerized by this delcatty than he remembered being when the battle started. She was working for the obsidian legion, but she said she didn't want to fight, and she was kind of pretty but-..."Ungh…" Terune began to rub the sides of his head in confusion.

Semora once again swept towards the bisharp with a Low Kick, knocking the pokemon to the floor. "Hngh…" The bisharp grunted. "As long as I still have…" He staggered to stand up. "The last of my strength...I will defeat you all…"

"Die, fire-type!" The simipour lunged at Charlie with a Fury Swipes once more, but Charlie weaved through the attacks effortlessly. "Stay still, damn you!" The simipour cursed.

The bergmite all took this as their cue, and one jumped towards each Moonbrand member, brandishing an Ice Fang. Charlie, Semora, and Terune all dodged, and while Aaron was hit, he easily smashed the bermite against the ground in a counterattack.

"Rock Slide!" Terune fought the pervasive thoughts about the delcatty as he once again summoned a large amount of rocks and chucked them at the lackeys and bergmite, managing to knock out both the bisharp and the simipour, as well as crush two more bergmite. Now only the delcatty, the spinda, and one last bergmite remained.

"Hrah!" Hextra slashed the delcatty with a Dragon Claw, bloodying the pokemon's face with a visible gash and scar, before the delcatty fell to the ground, losing consciousness, and snapping Terune out of his mesmerization.

"Thunder!" Aaron yelled as he smited the remaining bergmite with a Thunder that, by all accounts, was way over the top considering the enemy it was used on.

Micah headed up the spinda and threw a punch at it, which the spinda drunkenly dodged in her stupor. Micah turned to Semora. "Help?"

Semora nodded and rushed up to flank with a Leaf Blade, only to also be outmaneuvered by the spinda. "What's with her?"

"Terune!" Semora looked up to where Terune was still grabbing onto a rafter near the ceiling. "Can you get her from there?"

"Um…" Terune rose his other arm and pointed it at the spinda, Dark Pulse spheres shooting out of his hand. And while the dark spheres were right on the mark, the spinda kept dodging the attacks by bending and moving in the most counterintuitive ways possible.

"*Hiccup*" The spinda hiccuped as she rushed at Hextra for the final of her Thrash attacks, only for the shiny haxorus to dodge.

Charlie blew a solid Flamethrower towards the spinda, hoping that the spreading flames would account for the erratic movements of the enemy.

The spinda easily danced around the flames, until, out of nowhere, she fell face-first into the attack.

She did not get up.

"Whew...that's all of them." Charlie wiped her brow.

"An amazing performance, I'd say." Inkeri clapped from a hole in the ceiling. "Well done, each of you."

"What the fuck are you talking about, you traitor?" Aaron asked angrily. "You left us to die-"

"I did no such thing." Inkeri shook her head calmly. "I fact checked the information. You can rest assured that these are not, in fact, true Emberguard Guards. Just as that haxorus with the scar told you, yes?"

"Scar?" Aaron questioned as he looked over at Hextra and noticed the large scar along the left side of her neck.

"It's a wonderful scar isn't it?" Hextra smiled as she boasted. "I was sparring with a garchomp once, and we both got a little too into it. Man, that was a good time."

"Now that things have settled down a bit…" Micah said as he looked around at the Moonbrand members. "I have a favor to ask."

"A favor?" Semora crossed her arms. "I hope you know that we're rather busy right now."

"It shouldn't hinder this favor too much." Micah replied. "If you would find it acceptable, I would like to join this mercenary band."

"This one?"

"Unlike many other pokemon, I can teleport." Micah explained. "And I am aware that once the problems here have been taken care of, some Moonbrand will be heading to Fable. Thanks to some strange circumstances surrounding that island, I cannot teleport there, but I've heard some disturbing rumors from Hextra here."

"Hmm…" Aaron scratched his head. "Hextra sounds too much like 'Extra'. How about we call you Hex?"

"I think I'd like that." Hex nodded. "After all, when I heard what Micah told me, I decided to join up with you guys as well!"

"Oh my, two in one day." Inkeri snickered to herself. "A physical powerhouse, and a healer who can hold his own. I certainly don't mind adding you to the roster. Now, are you ready to join us on your first mission as Moonbrand members? We're about to break into a mansion!"

* * *

 **Supports That Happened Before The Missions Began**

 _ **Conlan and Bennett: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Hey, there he is! Con-lan-my-man!" Bennett exclaimed as he walked up to Conlan, who was busy getting mail.

"Hey Bennett." Conlan greeted with a smile. "How is the world treating you?"

"She's very needy, but rarely gives anything in return. I liked my old world better, you?"

"Ehhh…" Conlan wavered his hand. "It's hard to decide. There are times when I miss everyone in my old world so much, but there are also times when I dread going back and leaving everyone here behind. It feels somewhat like I simply moved from one house to another sometimes as well, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess that makes some sense." Bennett nodded as he folded his arms. "Well, let's wish each other luck on whatever adventures we both go on next. I'm sure they'll be...out of this world."

Conlan gave a giant, disappointed sigh.

"Sure, Bennett, Sure."

* * *

 _ **Rudo and Charlie: Support Rank C Reached**_

"Th-the...Ca- The Cha-...The Charm...an...der...The Charmander! The Charmander!"

"That's only the first two words of the sentence, Rudo." Charlie laughed. "Come on, read the rest, you've got this."

"E-no wait...Is o-ran-gie… What's 'o-ran-gie'?"

"That word spells 'orange'." Charlie informed Rudo. "Here, look at this one too."

"Tastie?"

"Taste." Charlie corrected. "Sometimes there is a silent e at the end of a word."

"That's stupid. Whoever thought that up is stupid."

"It's just the standard Normalian language." Charlie laughed. "If you wanted I could teach you Firean, but you might find yourself stressing out too much over its grammar and noun genders."

"No, Normalian is enough." Rudo answered. "It's the one everyone uses in day to day life after all."

"Well, I guess that's enough practice for now." Charlie said as she closed the picture book that she had lent Rudo for practice. "You'll be able to read high-level works before you know it. Don't give up!"

"Then I can read your book!" Rudo jumped up, eyes glimmering with excitement.

"Absolutely not." Charlie's face went stern as she refused bluntly.

* * *

 _ **Semora and Bravero: Support Rank C Reached(From Double Rank Up)**_

"You're Semora, right?" Bravero asked as he walked up to Semora, who was busy training against a dummy in the UGM Hall courtyard.

"You're the new member?" Semora asked. "What did you come here to ask me about?"

"Well, actually...I was told by Conlan that if I wanted information on the Azure Syndicate, I should talk to you?"

"You've come to the wrong pokemon then." Semora said, continuing to train. "Even I don't have as much information as you would probably expect me to-"

The Leaf Blade she was practicing suddenly disappeared as she realized an error she'd made. "Wait a minute...what did Conlan tell you about me? Because if you know about me, then I'm going to need to kill you-"

Bravero could have reacted in any number of ways, and Semora would not have been fazed, but laughing was not one of those ways.

"Hahahahahaha, Oh, that's great!" Bravero smiled.

"What are you-?" Semora's eyes narrowed.

"You don't want to tell me anything about your past, so you make a false threat to end my life." Bravero smiled. "I've been targeted by those out to kill me before. You're too relaxed to actually be intending to kill me, right?"

"You're beginning to make me curious about your own past, new member-"

"Bravero." Bravero said. "My name is Bravero, feel free to use it."

"Bravero, why do you want to know about The Azure Syndicate?"

"It may or may not have to do with a massive debt my father incurred that still hasn't been paid back yet and a kidnapped brother? What about you, Semora?"

"I don't think I feel comfortable sharing my past with a stranger…"

"Fair enough. Let's be friends then." Bravero held out a hand for a handshake.

"No." Semora replied without moving.

"What, why not?" Bravero rose an eyebrow.

"The last pokemon I got close to…" Semora looked down at the ground.

"What, he died?" Bravero asked, bluntly.

"Did you just-" Semora gasped. "He was my-"

"It doesn't matter now what he was to you. He died. Those are the facts, and besides you're wrong. The last pokemon you got close to didn't die, because he's talking to you right now."

"We aren't close, Bravero."

"Oh really?" Bravero cocked his head towards his hand. "All you have to do is reach out your arm, and we'll be touching each other. That's pretty close already."

"You are making me both angry and confused." Semora's eyes narrowed as she gave a cool reply again. "If you do truly want to learn more about The Azure Syndicate, come to me when you are focused and able to listen."

Having said her piece, Semora walked off into the UGM Hall.

"Man…" Bravero rubbed the back of his neck. "For someone who is allegedly an assassin according to Conlan, she's kind of adorable."

* * *

 _ **AN1: Pierce the pawniard was sent in by LivingTorch, thank you LivingTorch!(Can I call you LivingTorch?)**_

 _ **AN2: Hextra "Hex" the haxorus was sent in by 1Glimmershine, thank you blackfang!**_

 _ **AN3: Congrats to Gina and Verden on making Support Rank A! As was stated back when they were introduced, this is the first rank where OCs can begin a romance with one another. If you decide that you would like your OC to harbor or act on any romantic feelings for the other author's OC, please PM me about it. Various events can play out differently for OCs in a relationship, and some events or areas can only be accessed by OCs in a relationship as well.**_

 _ **AN4: OC Sheet**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all or now! Thanks for reading** **^.^!**_


	4. RIP Wildeburn Arena Number 1

"The first round of matches is about to begin!" Alvar, the reshiram baron of Wildeburn announced as he quickly looked to Tashia on his right and then to Fernando on his left. "Our first matchup is Contestant #6, Conlan the monferno, VS Contestant #15, Satinka the salazzle! Please take to the arena!"

Conlan and Satinka walked to the center of the arena, a large circle of flattened molten rock, still warm to the touch. It felt far different than the Merc Madness arena had. Less artificial and a lot more natural.

"Are you ready, new monferno?" Satinka smiled. "I certainly am."

"These matches will continue until one pokemon or the other is either unable to battle from being knocked out or forfeits of their own accord. The tournament is single-elimination, and the winner will be granted 250,000 poke as the grand prize!" Alvar announced. "Match 1, Conlan the monferno vs Satinka the salazzle! Pokemon ready...begin!"

"What's wrong? Don't you want the first move?" Satinka taunted as Conlan stayed frozen momentarily, still trying to process what was happening. He was in a tournament now, against a trained and professional soldier. He thought back to his chess match with B in nowhere. The one in which he had spent too much time thinking. In that case-

"Well then-" Satinka laughed. "How about a-"

Within an instant, Conlan disappeared from Satinka's sight, before reappearing right behind her.

"Well, if you _insist_ I go first…" Conlan grinned as he directly hit Satinka on the small of her back with a Mach Punch, sending sound reverberations through the air before the salazzle rocketed forwards, only just able to use her feet to create enough friction to stop herself.

This was it then, Conlan thought to himself. He couldn't waste time thinking about what to do. Like Reshiram had told him back in the keep, he needed to put more trust in his power as a human turned pokemon, and this would be the battle where he started.

* * *

 **Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Wildeburn Summit, Part 4**

 **Moonbrand Present: Conlan, Rudo, Mandy, Bravero, Ornia**

"Not bad, kid." Satinka spat corrosive spit from her mouth onto the molten rock that comprised the arena floor. "But all you've done is piss me off!" She opened her mouth and shot a beam of Dragon Pulse right at Conlan.

"Monferno legs, don't fail me now." Conlan prayed to himself as he jumped in a corkscrew fashion over the attack, and dived down towards Satinka with an Acrobatics, only just barely missing the salazzle as she rolled out of the way, causing him to impact the ground with enough force to crack it.

"I've had enough of this." Satinka rolled her eyes as she rushed towards Conlan. "You might as well stop moving!" As she struck Conlan in his chest, her hand secreted a strange toxin that Conlan didn't recognize, causing all his joints to instantly stiffen.

"How do you like my specialized Disable?" Satinka asked as she prowled around him. "It's always my first move when I torture enemies. The second move…" Conlan could see her preparing to spit some kind of venom at him. "Is this!"

As Satinka spit her Toxic attack, Conlan realized he needed to act, and if he couldn't move his limbs…

Conlan blew a steady stream of spiraling flames out of his mouth, aiming down towards the ground, creating a small Fire Spin shield that caused the Toxic attack to explode before it made contact with his skin.

"Fire Spin on yourself?" Satinka wondered allowed. "You realize that even if you break free of my Disable, you're still trapped right?"

"What are you waiting for then?" Conlan asked with a grin. "Come and get me."

He snickered to himself at the trap he'd set up, as he looked for the various weak points on Satinka's body.

"Alright kid, but you asked for this, not me!" Satinka rushed at Conlan again, her hands outstretched for what appeared to be a Double Slap attack.

Perfect.

"Surprise!" Conlan exclaimed as white claws of light emerged from his fists as he countered Satinka's first Double Slap with his own first Fury Swipe. Their attacks continued to hit each other, each one damaging Satinka slightly more than Conlan, and when they had exhausted both of their 5 attacks each, Conlan struck Satinka in the chest with another Mach Punch, sending the salazzle back through the Fire Spin wall.

"And let's trap you inside this now!" Conlan announced as he concentrated all his energy on the Fire Spin around him, and began to shift it towards Satinka.

"I see." Satinka smiled. "Quite the creative use of a Fire Spin. The Lightgrasp military would welcome someone like you. Unfortunately...you've left _yourself_ wide open!"

She spat another Toxic attack at Conlan.

Shit, Conlan thought to himself. I need to explode that thing before it hits me. A trained soldier's Toxic is not something I want to put up with.

He looked at his moving Fire Spin. "Maybe I could…" He mumbled, thinking.

Wait, no, he was thinking again! Don't think, just do it!

"Raahhhhh!" Conlan involuntarily exclaimed as he used all the strength in his body to turn the swirling vortex of fire on its side, and smack the Toxic attack back towards Satinka.

"Oh...Heatran be damned." Satinka's eyes widened as she noticed the explosive Toxic heading back towards her, followed by a tail of an ever-increasing Fire Spin.

There was no way to dodge that.

First, came the exploding Toxic blob, which drenched Satinka in her own corrosive fluids before she had a chance to do anything. After that, came the Fire Spin vortex, which only hastened the loss of her stamina.

"And, finally…" Conlan rushed up towards Satinka, faster than she could ever hope to react in her current state. "I'll finish this match the same way I started!" He disappeared from view, before reappearing right behind the weakened salazzle, and once again striking her in the back with a Mach Punch, this one with so much force that the Fire Spin vortex dispersed as Satinka rolled along the molten rock ground of the arena to the other side.

She tried to get up, but before she could truly stand again, she was finished off by the corrosive Toxic that had gotten all over her.

"Satinka is unable to continue battling!" Alvar announced. "Which makes Conlan the winner! Conlan advances to the next round"

"Whoo! Go Conlan!" Rudo cheered from the bleachers, before turning to Bravero. You're up next right? Good luck! I can't wait to see you fight!"

"I might be a bit rusty." Bravero scratched behind his head as he looked over at Kavosa, the krookodile member of Team Soulwind, giving a slight shudder before a sigh to calm himself down and steel his nerves. "I'd rather my opponent not be a ground type. I'm no moron. I'll have to be putting up with earthquakes left and right, and that's _if_ I manage to stay in the battle past the first one."

"Well, if Conlan can beat a trained soldier, I think you'll be fine." Rudo relaxed back in her seat. "I guess that's one way of looking at it." Bravero gave a small laugh. As one of the newest members of Moonbrand, he didn't know many of the other mercenaries on his team as well as he would have liked to, but Rudo was always very sociable and helpful, especially when it came to making everyone feel like part of a team. "I'll do my best and represent Moonbrand well." Bravero promised.

"Alright then…" Kavosa cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck, while talking with Razr and Xenon. "I'll be right back, boys. Trust me, thanks to my place in this tournament line-up, the money is as good as ours."

"Just finish it quickly and try not to overdo it." Xenon folded his arms as he sat back in his own seat. "Don't waste any more energy than you absolutely have to. We're leaving for Lightgrasp as soon as we're done here, and we need everyone with as much stamina as possible. We're not native to this climate like most of Moonbrand, nor have we had over two months to adapt to it. Keep that in mind when fighting."

"Contestant #13, Kavosa the krookodile, and contestant #9, Bravero the blaziken, please take to the arena!" Alvar announced as Conlan sat by Rudo to watch the rest of the matches.

"Alright, buddy, I'll make this quick for you, so just sit back there and lose, alright?" Kavosa grinned as he and Bravero took to opposite ends of the arena.

"I don't intend to lose." Bravero shifted his legs into a fighting stance as he replied calmly. "I suppose that membrane over your eyes prevents you from seeing expressions."

"Not even a ghost type, yet he's still throwing all that shade." Aleron the terrakion chuckled. "I hope this match can entertain me as much as the last one did."

"Match 2," Alvar announced as he spread his wing-like arms wide "Kavosa the krookodile VS Bravero the blaziken! Pokemon ready… begin!"

"I'm not gonna waste any more time than I have to on you!" Bravero shouted as he rushed towards Kavosa, his fist glowing the light of a Sky Uppercut attack, but as he neared the krookodile, Kavosa quickly slide under the blaziken's legs, coming up behind Bravero with a smirk.

"Funny, I was about to say the same to you."

As the molten rock ground began to shake and small holes in the once smooth arena began to form, Bravero realized that the Earthquake attack was imminent and kept his Sky Uppercut momentum going as he jumped up into the air to dodge the powerful ground attack just in time to avoid a fissure opening up from under him, revealing the flowing magma below the ground, before it closed back up.

"Rahhh!" Bravero stuck out his leg and set his foot ablaze as he descended down towards Kavosa. Maybe if the momentum from the fall gave him enough power, he could still end this fight early on. "Take this!"

Before the Blaze Kick could hit Kavosa, the krookodile managed to grab Bravero's shin, and tossed him backwards. Bravero skidded across the arena as he managed to land on his feet.

"Well how about you try this one on for size?" Kavosa asked as his tail elongated and liquified as he swished it towards the blaziken, who quickly hopped over the attack like he was playing a game of jump rope.

"What's going on?" Conlan rose a brow, confused, from the sidelines. "From what I've seen of Kavosa and heard from Bravero, at least one of them should have hit the other by now."

"They're both being cautious." Ornia piped up. "Neither one wishes to exert too much force in a tournament when there is a war that requires more of their energy. May Tapu Lele protect them both."

"Shh!" Rudo shushed the two of them. "Bravero's making a move!" She pointed to where Bravero had adopted a strange stance, almost as if he was striking some sort of dance pose. "Let's crank up the heat a bit." He grinned at Kavosa as the light shining down on the arena began to grow both hotter and brighter.  
"Then let's make sure we stop toying with each other as well." Kavosa grinned as he honed his claws against the molten rock ground of the arena.

Bravero struck another pose, and then noticed that the strong sunlight had already disappeared, thanks to the red clouds that Wildeburn was known for now finally passing directly overhead.

"Shit." He cursed to himself before making a split second decision to change to a Sky Uppercut attack once more, and rushed at Kavosa, significantly faster than the first time at the start of the match.

"Whoa!" The krookodile narrowly avoided being struck by the attack this time. "That was fast, man!"

"Speed Boost." Bravero replied. "Being fast is what I do best."

"Let's see if you really are that fast then!" Kavosa responded with another Aqua Tail.

Bravero jumped to dodge again, but Kavosa forced his tail upwards, smacking Bravero in his back, forcing him back down to the arena.

"You didn't think I would fall for that trick again, did you?" He asked with a toothy grin.

"I'm not sure." Bravero responded. "Did you count on _this_?!" He swept close to the ground with a Blaze Kick, which Kavosa managed to catch once again, this time by stepping on Bravero's foot with his own.

"No, but thank's for telling me." Kavosa laughed as the ground once again began to shake for an Earthquake. Unfortunately for the krookodile, it was all Bravero needed to escape his grasp, an once again perform a Sky Uppercut to dodge the attack. While Bravero tried to injure Kavosa on the way, the krookodile managed to use the shifting molten rocks to shield himself from the hit.

Both pokemon ended up on the ends of the arena where they had started the match.

"I'm not going to let you get away this time, and you can count on it." Kavosa growled as he once again honed his claws on the arena ground.

"I guess it's now or never then." Bravero gulped before rushing in one more time, his fist glowing for one last Sky Uppercut. By now, Bravero was indeed too fast for Kavosa, who was concentrating on his Hone Claws technique, to dodge, and the uppercut sent the krookodile a good twenty five feet into the sky, before beginning to descend.

"I hope you're prepared for this!" Kavosa shouted as he began to frontflip as his tail liquified. "High momentum Aqua Tail!"

Bravero was able to catch the attack, but the sheer force he was hit with was enough to cause him significant pain.

"Ngh…" He grunted. He couldn't waste this chance. This would likely be the one and only opportunity he had to use this move at such a close range.

A smirk flew across his face.

"Blast Burn." While Kavosa was able to avoid the attack by forcing his tail out of Bravero's grasp, the magma under the arena reacted quite strongly, and erupted out from the ground, causing the solid arena to now become a pool of lava, with only small islands of smooth molten rock remaining for any form of solid ground.

"Entei's roar, I've never seen a Blast Burn used like _that_." Alvar's eyes widened.

"Ngh…" Kavosa returned to his feet on his small molten island in the arena, and stared down Bravero, who was standing on his own.

"You aren't making this easy, bro." Kavosa panted.

"I could say the same to you." Bravero responded as well.

"This is a really close fight, huh?" Rudo asked Conlan, excitedly.  
"Not quite." Conlan's eyes narrowed. "It's true that these pokemon have been relatively evenly matched, but Bravero's sustained more damage. He's also been the one moving around more and using up more energy. And now with that Blast Burn, he's out of commission for a while. Still though, I'd rather not count him out just yet. He must still have something planned."

"This is enough!" Kavosa shouted as the magma around him began to flare up. "My team is going to win that money, dammit! Outrage!" Kavosa shouted as he leapt from his platform and flew towards Bravero.

The blaziken snickered.

As soon as Kavosa was near enough, Bravero relaxed all the muscles in his legs and fell to the ground, effectively dodging without wasting any energy.

"Gahh!" Kavosa's face widened with fear as he braced for the impending pain the magma he was steadily approaching would give him.

After an unpleasantly loud screech as he splashed down in the lava, he quickly scurried onto the nearest platform, revealing the heavily burnt krookodile legs.

"We'll have to re-pave the arena before the next battle." Alvar realized as Kavosa struggled to get back on his feet, while Bravero did the same.

"E-earthquaaake…." Kavosa panted as a faint rumbling shook the arena only very slightly, and Kavosa's molten island grew a small amount.

"Alright." Bravero's eyes narrowed. "Time to end this." He zoomed forward, his speed so fast that he became a blur. "Blaze Kick!"

He hit Kavosa right in the stomach, causing the krookodile to fall to his knees and cough up soot-colored blood, likely due to his time spent in the lava, before collapsing. Bravero caught him before he could fall off the island.

"Well…" Alvar coughed. "*Ahem* I mean, Kavosa is no longer able to battle, which makes Bravero the winner! Bravero advances to the second round! However, before our third match, I'd like to re-pave the arena. We can't have you all competing when our arena is in shambles after all."

"Ornia and Gertrude are fighting next, right?" Bravero asked as he returned to where Moonbrand was sitting.

"You guys are doing so awesome!" Rudo exclaimed as she ignored Bravero's question. "First Conlan was all like- and then you were all like-, _ugghh_ I just want to get to my fight already now!"

"Yes, Ornia and Gertrude are up next." Conlan replied to Bravero's question. "It sounds like an interesting match. Gertrude is the leader of a high-ranking mercenary band, and Ornia is a holy knight with a lot of training."

"But do you know what I _really_ can't wait to see?" Rudo continued exclaiming her excitement. "Is when the two of you fight each other in the next round!"

Both Bravero's and Conlan's eyes went wide as they looked at each other. Two fire/fighting types, each one very creative in how they used their moves. "That's right, isn't it?" Bravero realized. "We'll be each other's opponents in the next round. Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're the leader."

"I don't expect you to go easy on me." Conlan said as he looked over the ruined arena. "But I already know your battle style, and I don't have a set way of fighting, so don't expect to win against me either."

"Yeah! I'm loving the confidence!" Rudo cheered. "Can't wait to see the next match!"

* * *

 **Fire Province: City of Emberguard: Market District: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Espionage in Emberguard, Part 4**

 **Moonbrand Present: Charlie, Aaron, Terune, Semora, Micah, Hex**

"A type 2 legendary? Really?" Charlie's eyes were wide with fear. "What exactly are we talking about here? Moltres, Entei, Heatran?"

"I never said it was a fire-type Type 2 legendary." Inkeri snickered. "All types are welcome here in Emberguard after all. The ruler might be a bit of a snob, but he's a perfectly fine _ruler_ , all things considered. That said, he's a tad too corrupt to be chosen by Reshiram to lead Ignia."

"You've confused me now." Terune tilted his head.

"Oh, this is an easy one." Aaron was the one who spoke up. "Terune, you're from the Grass Province right? What other name do you call it?"

"Um…" Terune thought for a moment. "I've heard others sometimes call it Momiji before...I think…"

"That's what it used to be called, before we decided on 'so and so type province' to name them, there were actual nations, with actual names. The biggest ones were Momiji, Ignia, Fable, Noironia, Crystelle, and Nike. Today, we know them as the Grass, Fire, Fairy, Dark, Water, and Fighting provinces."

"A large nation that many forget to include is Shivech." Inkeri nodded as she added along. It was ruled by what is now the Ice Province, but included the Rock, Ground, and Steel provinces as well."

"Why do many forget to include it?" Terune asked.

"Because Shivech had already broken apart by the time most of the other nations rose to power." Semora answered. "It counts as a former nation, but not as, well, as part of the era that is known as Latter Zygarde."

"Oh, that reminds me." Inkeri smiled. "I still need to tell you about the type 2 legendary and its tether's rumored location. The species of the type 2 legendary is...Heatran."

"That _is_ a fire type!" Charlie exclaimed.

"And it _could_ have not been!" Inkeri replied back, mocking Charlie's tone. "Don't ever assume things without info during missions like these. It could cost you your life."

"Alright, so it's a heatran." Hex crossed her arms. "So what?"

"Well, we don't know what it embodies." Inkeri sighed. "And we're relatively sure that the tether is some form of jewelry that the braixen caretaker, a noblewoman named Aradia, keeps with her, or at least close to her. Usually stored in her mansion somewhere if she can't carry it with her for whatever reason. This is where the six of you come in. I want a team of three investigating the mansion for information on this heatran and to gauge its level of threat. The other team I want to covertly follow Aradia about her day, and see if you can't determine the exact properties of the tether. For my part, I've already drawn out a rough floor plan of the mansion, and written down Aradia's daily schedule to aid both groups. If you succeed, meet me at the Temple of Moltres in the Residential District during the small hours of the night. If you fail, flee Emberguard, and head to Wildeburn. It has other Moonbrand members as well as the queen and some of my 'students'" Inkeri used finger quotes as she said 'students' "staying there for the time being. Now then," She turned to the six moonbrand members. "How are we splitting you guys up?"

* * *

 **Fire Province: Blaze Desert(30F Mystery Dungeon) 15F: Blaze Oasis: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Crustle's Caravan, Part 4**

 **Moonbrand Present: Magdalene, Gina, Bennett, Verden**

"There it is!" Verden exclaimed as the caravan reached the oasis that Cassius had told them about. The oasis itself was large and the sunlight reflecting off the water made the liquid glisten as though it were a gift from the heavens themselves. The plant life around the spring was lush and green, with both grass and shrubs bright and colorful. Flowers bloomed further up the desert. The oasis marked a change in climate from a hot, dry, expanse filled with nothing but sand, to a more arid, but temperate desert, where plant life was more common, and where heat was not nearly as great an issue. To many, this signified that one was now much closer to the Electric province border than the Fire Province capital, though, since no one could ever successfully map out a mystery dungeon, this theory has yet to be proven accurate. Finally reaching this midway point in their journey, Moonbrand decided to take a brief respite here.

"Ah...water!" Bennett hurriedly began to drink from the oasis, followed quickly by Magdalene.

"You aren't going to go get water?" Gina asked Verden as they both hung back.

"Nah, I've been fine with the heat this entire time." He laughed. "But why are you not getting a drink?"

Gina pointed to a new hail cloud above her. "It melts before it reaches my tongue, look."

She demonstrated her self-hydration technique to Verden.

"I see." Verden laughed a bit before gulping. "Hey Gina, the other night, when you said you'd help me find a lover."

"Yeah?" Gina asked. "Have you decided on the kind you want or something?"

"Something like that…" Verden began to sweat a bit. "I think, first and foremost, I'd want her to be smart, but I also wouldn't want her to put up with any shit. She'd stand on her own to feet."

"Of course, of course." Gina nodded along. "Obvious choices so far."

"I'd also like someone who knows how to talk to other pokemon, even if she's not always sincere when she does it. She'd be good looking among her species as well."

"You're starting to create a rather tall order, Verden." Gina laughed. "But if she's good looking among her species, you've obviously got some in mind, right?"

"Yeah, a few, heh heh heh." Verden began to nervously laugh. "The one that interests me the most right now though is a….an ice type…"

"Come on, Verden, just grow a pair and say it already." Gina gave a knowing smile. "You ought to have picked up on the hints I gave the other night easily enough."

"Gina, we should get together-"

"FINALLY." The glaceon groaned as she sat in the sand. "It took you _way_ too long to get to the point on that one."

"So is that a yes?" Verden asked, mentally crossing his fingers.

"'Course it's a yes!" Gina smiled. "But we have a mission to complete, so try to focus on that for now, 'k babe?"

"Babe already?!" Verden quickly went red.

"H-hey, you two?" Bennett called out from near the oasis.

"Verden, Gina...you guys should really get over here…" Magdalene also sounded worried.

The two rushed up to where the other Moonbrand were staring into the water as a shadow began to get bigger, and bigger.

"Is there something living in there?" Bennett asked as he pointed.

"Nothing, right?" Gina and Magdalene looked at each other and nodded.

"I don't see how anything could live in such a small pool of water."

"Everyone get back!" Verden yelled as he hurried the others back just in time to avoid the Twister attack by the gyarados that appeared out of the oasis water.

"YOU!" It shouted. "YOU ARE THE THIEVES! THE FOUR THIEVES WHO STOLE MY MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS!"

"No, you've got it all wrong!" Magdalene tried to protest, but Verden stopped her.

"It won't work, Magdalene. Look into this gyarados's eyes. She's beyond enraged. The only way we're getting past her is with a fight, but we should avoid dealing any fatal damage. She clearly isn't a bad pokemon, and if we can help her get her treasure back, we should."

"Alright then." Magdalene said, adopting a battle-ready stance. "I guess we don't have a choice."

* * *

 _ **AN0: And we finally have a non-Doobop OC relationship form, congrats to Verden and Gina.**_

 _ **I remember, albeit vaguely, stating something along the lines of couples being able to form team attacks of sorts to signify their bond, and since Verden and Gina are not only at A rank, but are also now romantically involved, I believe they deserve one, so here you guys go:**_

 _ **Leech Hail: a combination of Leech Seed from Verden and Hail from Gina, that drains energy from all pokemon hit by it, and it lasts for up to five turns. In addition, regular Hail damage is also taken by said pokemon. Half the amount of total lost health is distributed equally among Verden and Gina. As a team attack, it may only be used once per battle.**_

 _ **If you want another one, rank up in support again.**_

 _ **I remember Dragon-wolf mentioning moonbrand children in one of his reviews, and while no one is in any way obligated to, if you want your OC couple to spawn a kid, let me know in a PM. The first child will be the base species of one parent(determined randomly), and the sex of the other one. Any children afterwards will be either species and either sex. In the case of an OC couple of the same sex wanting a child, we all know that orphanages exist in this world, and other than the origin of the child, the same rules will apply. Once again, no one is in any way obligated to do this, but just like couples, families can unlock certain events and areas that a single pokemon, or perhaps sometimes even a couple, wouldn't be able to participate in.**_

 _ **Anyways, that's enough about that, onto the other things!**_

* * *

 _ **AN1: Espionage in Emberguard peeps, please send in which of the two missions you would like your OC to go on, and any specific role you would like them to perform on that mission. It's 1st come 1st served for the mission rosters as well, so get on that!**_

 ** _Investigate the Heatran:_**

 ** _1: Micah_**

 ** _2: Charlie_**

 ** _3: Semora_**

 ** _Investigate Aradia the braixen:_**

 ** _1: Terune_**

 ** _2: Hex_**

 ** _3: Aaron_**

* * *

 _ **AN2: Crustle's Caravan peeps, please send in strategies for dealing with Gyarados.**_

 _ **AN3: OC Sheet**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Age(Levels Don't Exist Here):**_

 _ **OC Ability:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all or now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	5. Oasis Onset

**Fire Province: Blaze Desert(30F Mystery Dungeon) 15F: Blaze Oasis: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Crustle's Caravan, Part 5**

 **Moonbrand Present: Magdalene, Gina, Bennett, Verden**

Gina wasted no time in firing an Ice Shard towards the gyarados in the oasis, however, even as she did so, the gyarados countered with a quick Dragon Rage, and the ice was sent straight back into Gina's front left femur.

Cassius the crustle could hear the bone snapping from back inside his wagon.

"Gina!" Verden worriedly exclaimed as Magdalene hurriedly used a Disable.

"Hup!" Bennett shot a Toxic sphere towards the gyarados, who was easily able to weave her body around it, and responded to Bennett's attack with a Scald blasting from her mouth.

Bennett took the full force of the attack and was knocked back towards the caravan wagons. As he tried to scream in pain, he realized that his throat had been burned so severely that he couldn't make any real noise with his vocal chords.

"Gina, can you still move?" Verden asked as he ran up to her, while quickly tossing a Spore seed towards the gyarados, only to have the wind in the desert blow the spore directly onto Gina.

"Well, I guess this makes it easier to protect you." He sighed as he made sure to block the gyarados's line of sight to Gina.

"You will give my pressures treasures BACK!" The gyarados roared as clouds began to move in over the oasis and a heavy rain began to pour down on the sandy area.

Magdalene concentrated with all her might on launching an Extrasensory attack upon the gyarados, who quickly recoiled in pain from the mental pressure.

Verden, realizing the team desperately needed a group huddle or _something_ , shot as large of a Spore attack as he could at the gyarados, however, the serpent was able to swerve her body and dodge the attack without effort. Bennett saw the opportunity to flank the gyarados and let loose another Toxic. This time, the poisonous projectile managed to splatter itself all over the serpent, who let out an ear-piercing howl. Unfortunately, Verden's previous Spore was so strong, Gina slept soundly through the atrocious noise. Magdalene kept up the fight with another Extrasensory attack, reality around the gyarados's face warping to damage her psyche.

"Guraooohhhhh!" The gyarados screamed in agony as she writhed in pain from the attack that left no physical scars on her body.

"Gotta make a distraction." Verden mumbled to himself as he created a nearly perfect looking substitute which then ran off towards the gyarados, making as much of a riot as a substitute possibly could in order to get the serpent's attention. Bennett, once again taking advantage of the opportunity Verden had presented him with, charged up a Shadow Ball and fired it at the enraged gyarados. However, the gyarados noticed the attack in the knick of time and used an Aqua Tail to bat the Shadow Ball towards the Verden substitute, which nimbly dodged the attack and jumped out of the area now affected by the newly formed sinkhole. Bennett fired off another Shadow Ball from near the caravan, nearly sniping the gyarados in her head, knocking her incredibly off-balance.

As the gyarados turned her attention towards Bennett, Magdalene let loose another Extrasensory, though the gyarados seemed unaffected by the warping this time. Her attention was too focused.

Verden realized this, and quickly had his substitute launch a Seed Bomb towards the serpent, hitting her right in her belly, causing her to keel over in pain as her eyes narrowed in on the substitute once more, much to Verden's relief. The gyarados let a large Scald shoot out of her mouth towards the substitute, and almost immediately, the entire substitute melted down to the ground as the sand below it become an unnerving boiling mud.

Realizing that the substitute was a trick, the gyarados snapped her head to look back at Verden, the real one. "YOU! That trickery was used by one of the thieves! You've poisoned me to chip away at my energy, you've stricken me with techniques I can't comprehend, and now you've done this cowardly actions! That settles it! You must DIE!" She shouted before letting loose another Scald, this time aimed directly at Verden.

"Gaaahhhh!" Verden screamed as he absorbed all of the Scald that he could, making sure none of it accidentally harmed the sleeping Gina. As he gritted his teeth to brace through the boiling pain, and realized he wasn't burned anywhere, he quickly turned to talk to Gina.

"Don't worry, Gina. We're not out of this yet at all." He smiled before quickly kissing her forehead and tossing a Leech Seed into the air.

"V-...huh?" Gina opened her eyes, and, upon realizing the rain, immediately began to create Hail instead.

The resulting effect was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. The Leech Seed broke apart in midair and each piece attached itself to falling hall, those that feel in the oasis quickly both pelting the gyarados and sapping her of energy, however, Magdalene and Bennett both quickly found themselves subject to the same adverse effects, and Verden himself was pelted by the Hail, which the still groggy Gina seemed to have no true control over. Bennett, despite having taken serious damage prior to this, noticed that the strange hail had somehow managed to heal his burn as though it had never happened in the first place.

"Huh...cool." He said, groggily, as Gina regained consciousness.

"Huh? Oh!" She soon realized where she was and what was going on.

"Did you enjoy your nap?" Bennett asked Gina as he tossed another Shadow Ball at the gyarados, which managed to scrape the serpent's body as she found it increasingly difficult to move thanks to the plenty of Leech Seed Hail pellets covering her body.

"It was more pleasant than...whatever this fiasco is." Gina said as she looked around at Magdalene, Bennett, and the gyarados all covered in the Leech Seed Hail, and Verden, flinching with each successive Hail pellet to hit his head.

"You caused this fiasco!" Magdalene told it like it was.

"It's best we talk about _that_ later." Verden said as he stood up to face the gyarados. "Right now, we need to focus on subduing _her_. Come on!" He announced as he tossed a Seed Bomb, which, while it went wide, it did gain the gyarados's attention.

Magdalene once again performed an Extrasensory attack, though by now it appeared that the gyarados had resigned herself to accepting the warping reality that Magdalene was making her witness. Gina let loose a Frost Breath, and as the gyarados's body began to slowly run out of energy and lose heat thanks to the ice-attack, Bennett once again fired a Shadow Ball.

It was the final hit to cause the gyarados to lose consciousness, as she fell down towards the mud that the precipitation had created out of the sand. Everyone managed to move out of the way before the thud occurred, and after they had waited for a few more seconds, the Hail died down and the desert sky cleared back up again.

"Well….I don't know _how_ you did that Leech...Hail...thing, but please don't involve us in it next time." Magdalene sighed as she wolfed down an oran berry along with a max elixir, as Bennett and Gina did the same, while Verden carefully nibbled on his own, making his disgust with the taste and texture of the berry clear with every movement of his lips.

"I'm not sure how we did that _either_ ," Verden said as he scratched the back of his head. "All I know is that now that I know we _can_ do it, it would do us some good to try _perfecting_ it."

"Not while on the mission though." Bennett grinned. "Do it during down time, while you two are _chilling_."

"The annoying ghost is right though." Magdalene agreed. "If you do want to practice, a mission isn't the time or place to do that."

"Remind me again why we haven't moved on yet to complete the mission then?" Gina asked.

"Two reasons." Verden replied with a smile and a gesture towards Gina's front left leg. "We need to decide how to handle your broken bone, because nothing else could make that sound, and we also…" Verden looked back towards the gyarados. "Should probably hear _her_ out when she wakes up. If there are thieves in these parts, they might have gotten their hands on the goods that the vibrava stole the other day."

"Will she talk willingly and calmly though?" Magdalene pondered. "She did kind of just try to kill us."

"She'll be willing, alright," the heliolisk in the distance sneered at the mercenaries eating their lunches."But that's exactly the trap! Kekekekekek! Kek!"

* * *

 **Fire Province: City of Emberguard: Artisan District: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Espionage in Emberguard, Part 5**

 **Moonbrand Present: Aaron, Terune, Hex**

 _Aradia's Schedule:_

 _6:00 AM: Wake Up, Get Ready_

 _7:00 AM: Breakfast in Mansion_

 _8:00 AM: Approve or Deny petitions for future appointments from Emberside locals._

 _9:00 AM: Feed and Groom Hereweald*_

 _10:00 AM: Collect Information Walking Around Nobility District_

 _11:00 AM: Peruse Artisan District, Head to Calbridge by hour's end_

 _12:00 PM: Lunch at Visha's Court_

 _1:00 PM: Exit Visha's Court``_

 _2:00 PM: Return to Mansion, Meet With Scheduled Emberside Locals_

 _3:00 PM: Feed and Groom Hereweald*_

 _4:00 PM: Walking Hereweald^_

 _5:00 PM: Walking Hereweald^_

 _6:00 PM: Return to Mansion, Dinner Feast_

 _7:00 PM: Bath, Get Ready, Head to Calbridge_

 _8:00 PM: Ballroom Party in Visha's Court_

 _9:00 PM: Return To Mansion, Feed and Groom Hereweald*_

 _10:00 PM: Set Hereweald to Sleep, Retire to Bedroom+_

 _*: If wearing ring, remember to use Magic Room before entering_

 _^: Avoid another 'Sunstorm Incident'. Free Roaming at rival owned lands only._

 _``: Make sure the others all leave before you do. No one but you can be left alone with him._

 _+: If successful at ballroom party, retire to Calbridge._

 **10:45 AM**

"Aradia's schedule sure does... _reveal_ a lot." Aaron noted as he, Hex, and Terune walked around the Artisan district, full of enterprising craftsman attempting to outshine the others pursuing a livelihood in the same skillset. "Why can't we just call this proof enough that she's got a heatran?"

"Because it isn't." Hex responded. "Anyone could have written this down, and from the look of things, I believe Inkeri transcribed this. This is _not_ the handwriting of nobility."

"So um…" Terune wondered aloud. "How are we supposed to follow her when as, non nobles, we can't get into most of the areas she'll be?"

"That's what makes this espionage, kid." Aaron grunted. "Gotta be all stealthy, because we aren't supposed to get caught by the target in the first place.

"Looking over this again…" Hex looked at the schedule. "It seems like we might actually already have a clue to the properties of the tether for this alleged heatran. The ring mentioned at the bottom of the schedule. I think that's probably the jewelry Inkeri was talking about."

"But how do we get her to show us the ring closely?" Aaron pondered. "I doubt she'll even talk to us unless she thinks we're nobility, or if we construct a convincing enough lie that we're residents of the township of Emberside, but making an appointment seems like it could take months, and I doubt we have nearly that much time."

"Then we'll have to go with the convincing nobility lie." Hex grinned. "How well can you guys fake proper etiquette?"

"Um...Not at all." Terune answered honestly.

"Ah, Milady Marquise, you look as lovely as I've heard." Aaron replied, surprising even himself with how convincing it sounded. "I am Aaron, Earl of Claybreach, in the Rock Province. I have travelled here on a whim, asking all nobles I have encountered for aide in the form of soldiers so that I might liberate my lands from the Obsidian Legion, and I was directed to you by Queen Tashia herself."

"Maybe _don't_ mention Tashia to a noble of an outer settlement?" Hex realized. "How about something like, I was directed to you by Visha himself I was. He told me, there is not a kinder and more beautiful woman in all of Emberguard!"

"Well, if you're so good at it, why don't _you_ do it?" Aaron asked.

"I thought you'd never ask." Hex's grin grew wider. She looked around and noticed a magmortar guard.

"Pardons, guard, might I have a moment of your time?"

"I haven't seen you here before, madam." The magmortar responded. "You speak as though you are of noble blood, yet the Dragon Province is both far away from here and largely silent since the terrorist attack. What is your purpose here in Emberguard?"

"Peace, guard, I am merely an estranged Duchess, who has been journeying back to her home to find out what might be transpiring there. I have heard that Duke Visha hosts lunch in Calbridge Hold that noblewomen are free to attend. Have I heard truth, or have I missed a point?"

"The lord's luncheons? I'm sorry to say, milady, that those are solely for nobles looking to wed, either to the lord himself or just in general. It is a ceremony he brought back with him from a trip he once took to Momiji, if you can believe it. Apparently many powerful unions between nobles can be made through the process. Unfortunately, the lord is a bit too hesitant for his own good, and has yet to choose a wife of the plenty of noblewomen that to this day dine and dance with him."

"It's weird." Aaron whispered to Terune while Hex spoke to the guard. "The more I hear about Visha, the less I hate his guts, and the more I feel kind of bad for him. He clearly doesn't have any confidence in himself whatsoever. I don't really want to fight him in a civil war if I can help it. There's got to be another way to resolve all this."

"Wishful thinking at best, foolish ignorance at worst." Hex responded as she returned from the guard. "In any case, I've got some good news for you two. We've managed to get ourselves into the Nobility District and Calbridge Hold. I am a noblewoman, and the two of you are my closest retainers. You get doors for me and all that. You also defend me with your lives if things get dicey. Basically, you are to me, what Cochrane and Inkeri are to Tashia."

"So are we _actually_ going to that lunch party?" Aaron asked.

"Yep. You may even get betrothed to a noble who takes a liking to you if you're lucky!"

"That's…." Terune looked around. "I think I'm too young for that…"

"You read Charlie's book, kid." Aaron grunted with a bit of a laugh. "You don't get to use the 'too young' excuse after doing that."

As an oricorio cooed 11 times, the three noticed a braixen walk out of the gates to the Nobility District, and as she walked around, looking at the various artisan stations, both Terune and Aaron nearly went slack-jawed and how exceptionally beautiful the braixen was.

"Milady, Aradia!" The magmortar guard bowed. "Your presence in our artisan district is an _honor_ , milady!"

"The honor is mine." Aradia responded quietly with a smile. "Everyone is so skilled here. So ambitious. It's very admirable, I think."

Hex grinned as she saw the conversation unfolding before her. "Ready to get started?" She turned to ask Terune and Aaron, who were both still transfixed.

"Boys!" Hex snapped in front of their faces, shaking them out of their stupor.

"I'm the noblewoman you serve, alright?" She asked, inflecting her voice to sound far more prim and feminine, akin to how Aradia had sounded. "So please keep me at the forefront of your minds as we go through with this plan, my cherished and loyal friends."

* * *

 **Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Wildeburn Summit, Part 5**

"Contestant #10, Ornia the carbink, and contestant #16, Gertrude the gardevoir, please take to the newly reconstructed arena!" Alvar announced as he motioned towards a newly paved arena.

"I would rather not shame a Serenity Soldier in such a trivial setting." Gertrude announced as both she and Ornia moved to separate ends of the arena. "Forfeit now, and avoid an unnecessary and disgraceful defeat."

"I believe the gardevoir should watch her tongue, before I rip it out!" Ornia snarled. "Do not talk of Tapu Lele's chosen as though you are on par with them!"

"I am not on par with them." Gertrude conceded, before lifting her head up and looking down at Ornia, only moving her eyes to do so. "I'm far above them."

"I can't be the only one thinking this will be over in like, two seconds, right?" Bravero asked.

"The two fights I've seen Gertrude in both lasted...very few seconds." Conlan agreed.

"I like the one where she lost to Sari." Rudo snickered. "It must suck that she was so easily defeated by a salazzle, only to then see Conlan creatively defeat one before her very eyes."

"The riolu would do well to realize that she has a fight coming up next, and should therefore be focusing on how to not get utterly demolished by me!" Pierce laughed from behind the rest of Moonbrand, sitting on the bleachers.

"Um…" Mandy turned back to him. "I'm going to say it now, since it will bother me if no one brings it up. You... _do_ realize that you are incredibly weak to moves like Force Palm and Reversal right? Rudo loves to use both of them."

"Don't forget Copycat!" Rudo smiled. "And Endure and Counter!"

"Yes, tell me your move set before the fight, that's not a recipe for defeat at all." Pierce gave a sarcastic chuckle.

"Hey, the fight! Watch it!" Satinka hissed as she pointed back to the arena.

"Match 3, Ornia the carbink and Gertrude the gardevoir!" Alvar announced. "Pokemon ready...begin!"

Gertrude, as both Conlan and Rudo expected, held out her arm as she fired a Hypnosis.

Ornia immediately fell to the ground.

"You all may not want to watch. This is embarrassing for the Serenity Knight." Gertrude announced to everyone watching as she knelt down near Ornia, and slowly hovered her mouth over the white rocks on the carbink's small neck, slowly draining a strange form of energy from her opponent, before bringing her head up and licking her lips.

"Yep." Conlan sighed. "It's the Dream Eater strategy again."

"I think putting the opponent to sleep is a cowardly way to fight." Rudo crossed her arms. "Ornia can't defend herself while she's asleep."

"I think the point Gertrude would make is that Ornia should have been able to avoid being put to sleep at all." Bravero responded.

As Ornia had yet to wake up, Gertude leaned in again.

"This isn't entertaining at all, where's the fighting?" Pierce complained, only to be shushed by Satinka.

Gertrude pulled herself back up again much earlier this time, and gave a slightly puzzled look.

"Oh I see." She nodded after finally realizing what was happening. "Ladies and gentlemen, Ornia _knows_ I'm using Dream Eater. As such, she's begun to shut down her dream complexity so that I have trouble finding them. A very good way to protect yourself while you sleep. Unfortunately, if I can't defeat her the painless and intimate way, I'll defeat her the _other_ way."

Gertrude put her hand up to the carbink.

"What _other_ way?" Ornia asked as her eyes shot open and she zoomed up into the air once again. "Ancient Power!" She announced as molten rocks from all over began to float and zoom in towards Gertrude, each colliding with the gardevoir with more force than the last.

"Moonblast!" Gertrude responded as she held out her hand and shot a beam of white energy from a small moon at the carbink.

"Nice try, but Tapu Lele has me protected!" Ornia exclaimed as the beam bounced off a Light Screen circling around Ornia.

"Don't act like you've turned this battle around." Gertrude shook her head and held out her hand again, firing another Hypnosis, though this one Ornia easily dodged, whilst she barraged Gertrude with a Rock Throw of counterfire. Gertrude spun out of the way and as she turned to face Ornia again, she let another Hypnosis go free from her hand, and Ornia once again began to descend to the ground, though Gertrude caught her in her arms before she could.

"There we go. All over now." Gertrude tried her best to point blank Moonblast the carbink, but with the Light Screen still in effect, she couldn't do anything.

"This is actually taking way longer than I thought it would." Bravero yawned. "You sure they aren't trying to use Hypnosis on _us_?"

"You, be quiet." Gertrude pointed at Bravero. "Do not wake my opponent."

She sighed, out of options, as she leaned in for a Dream Eater yet again, this time managing to gulp up a fair amount of dream energy as the bruises she received from being hit with Ancient Power began to heal.

"Great, now she's winning again." Rudo sighed as Gertrude leaned in for yet another Dream Eater feast.

"Oh wait a minute…" Conlan noticed. "This is like, the fifth or so time she's used Dream Eater, right?"

"Yeah, and?" Rudo asked.

"Well, I think Ornia might be stalling." Conlan responded. "Light Screen is still affecting things after all, and eventually, Gertrude is going to run out of Dream Eaters to use, and will have to resort to tactics she know won't work. Ornia is trying to back Gertrude into a corner."

As Conlan talked, Gertrude's Dream Eater seemed to get weaker with each use.

Her most recent one was the quickest Dream Eater yet.

Ornia had still yet to wake up, however, so Gertrude once again proceeded to lean in for a Dream Eater, though nothing seemed to find its way back to Gertrude.

"If Ornia is religious, she's probably very good at clearing her mind of things like dreams and thoughts, right?" Mandy asked.

"I mean, I think that's probably not true of all religious pokemon," Rudo thought about it. "But someone as clearly devout as Ornia definitely has _some_ sort of skill when it comes to meditation."

Gertrude was clearly losing patience as she once again leaned down for the Dream Eater, which once again yielded no results.

Just when it seemed like nothing was going to change, Ornia's Light Screen disappeared.

Gertrude grew a wicked smile.

"Moonblast!" She announced as she put her hand right towards Ornia's body, and immediately sent the carbink flying so fucking hard that when she hit the ground, she kept sliding for a good kilometer.

"Ornia is definitely no longer able to battle." Alvar announced. "Therefore the winner is Gertrude! Gertrude moves on to the next round of the tournament!"

"Oh man, oh Mew, oh my!" Pierce grinned as he rubbed his spike-like hands together. "I'll get to battle that sexy gardevoir in the next round? Let's get this next fight done and over with!"

"I think you might be jumping the gun a little there." Conlan turned to look at Pierce.

"She can jump _my_ gun, if you know what I mean!" Pierce held his hand up for a high-five, without realizing that even Conlan _didn't_ have his girlfriend right next to him, and _did_ want to high-five, Pierce's hand was a fucking _spike_.

"Good luck out there, Rudo." He instead wished Rudo luck. "Not that you'll need it against that poor kid."

"Hey, the reward for beating this kid is getting to beat up Gertrude. I'm already more determined to win than he even realizes." Rudo laughed. She gave Conlan a quick kiss before heading off towards the arena. "I'll be back in just a sec!"

"The next match will now begin!' Alvar spread his white wings with a roar. "Rudo the riolu and Pierce the pawniard, please take your positions in the arena!"

"You ready to lose?" Pierce smirked as he and Rudo took fighting stances.

"I was about to ask you the same question." Rudo replied.

* * *

 _ **AN:**_

 _ **Aight, Caravan four, send in any questions for the now hopefully subdued gyarados. Who knows? She may just have some interesting knowledge to share.**_

 _ **Also, Pierce, strategies for how to deal with Rudo would be very much appreciated.**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: OC Sheet**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all or now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	6. Terune Makes A Friend

**Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn: Age of Mew(Waning): Year 656: The Wildeburn Summit, Part 6**

 **Moonbrand Present: Bravero, Conlan, Mandy, Ornia, Rudo**

"Match 4, Rudo the riolu and Pierce the pawniard!" Alvar's white fur blew as the wind around the arena began to pick up very faintly. "Begin!"

Rudo rushed at Pierce without hesitation, aiming her Force Palm attack square at his chest, knocking the pawniard to the other side of the arena, and sending up a large cloud of dust.

"So strong for one so small." Gertrude mused as she sat next to her comfey teammates.

"Hngh!" Pierce tried his best to move his limbs and stand up, but was finding himself having difficulty.

Rudo simply smirked when he raised his head to look at her, somewhat smugly plugging her ears with her paws to shield against the weak Metal Sound that came out of Pierce's mouth.

"This is gonna suck for you." Rudo said as she walked up the clearly underprepared pawniard. "I'm sorry."

Pierce closed his eyes as the second, and final, Fore Palm came his way.

After more dust settled, it was clear that Rudo had won quite easily.

"Pierce is unable to battle, which means the winner is Rudo the riolu! Rudo advances to the next round!"

"That outcome was...disappointingly obvious." Ornis sighed as she returned to the bench where the rest of Moonbrand was seated.

"Well, no sense in waiting any longer. Aleron, Nezarix, you two are up!" Alvar smiled as both pokemon made their way down to the arena.

"Ready to get started, my boy?" Aleron asked with a hearty laugh as he took to one end of the arena.

"Of course I am. The question is, are _you_ prepared?"

"Match 5, Aleron the terrakion and Nezarix the noivern!" Alvar announced.

"I'm always prepared!" Aleron grinned.

"Begin!"

With the flap of Alvar's wing, Nezarix vanished in a poof of smoke, replacing his body with a substitute, though it was clear to those watching that Aleron hadn't caught on yet.

"Let's see how you like this then!" The terrakion laughed as his horns began to mold into rocks that he rammed into the substitute, tearing right through it, ripping it to shreds.

"That was the most unique and powerful Stone Edge I've ever seen!" Ornia exclaimed.

"He must impart that technique onto me after the tournament is over!"

"Substitute, eh?" Aleron noticed, as he realized Nezarix hovering in the air above him, beginning to charge sunlight. "Oh, now _that_ is clever! No wonder you lead a royal rank mercenary band! However…" Aleron kicked up a stone, before headbutting it towards Nezarix's left wing. "I'd prefer we keep this on land!"

"I represent the strongest mercenary band in The Flying Province!" Nezarix called as he dodged the rock. "And I fight from the air!"

The Solar Beam that Nezarix had been charging shot out, hitting Aleron directly, and leaving the molten ground somehow even more scorched where the beam had it. In fact, the rough arenascape had been somewhat terraformed into a flat, asphalt-like terrain.

"Whewww!" Aleron let out in a bellow after bracing through the pain. "That's a strong'n alright, but now I need to repay you for it! Get down from there!" A blur of various rocks formed around Aleron and rocketed towards Nezarix, pelting the noivern all over his body, forcing him to fly lower and at a slower speed so as not to injure his now incredibly bruised wings and body any further.

"You were right…" He replied to the terrakion. "That is a strong one."

Another disappearance in a puff of smoke later, and Nezarix had put another substitute on the field.

"I see…" Aleron grinned. "Same old trick again eh? Let's see you take this!"

As he rushed forwards with a Stone Edge, he wobbled on the unnaturally smooth arena, and ended up sliding past the substitute.

"No-!" He realized too late as he scrambled to turn around while a hidden Nezarix began to charge a Solar Beam again.

"Raaahhhh!" Aleron let out a war cry as he charged a Stone Edge at the substitute again, this time making sure to ram straight through it. "Now where are ya?"

"Up here." Nezarix responded from directly above Aleron, as he fired his Solar Beam, which Aleron slid back on the flattened terrain to dodge.

"I think I've got the hang of this now!" He grinned. "Time to knock the bat-dragon out of the sky!" He flung a Smack Down rock towards Nezarix, who instinctively strafed to his right to avoid the attack once more.

"How about I send some rocks down to you instead?" Nezarix asked as the sky began to momentarily darken, before many small meteorites descended from the heavens towards his terrakion adversary, burying Aleron in rubble.

The pile shook once, shook twice, and then crumbled away, to reveal that Aleron had been knocked out. The royal rank mercenary had defeated the champion guard.

"Aleron is, for the first time in a long time here, unable to battle!" Alvar announced. "Which means the winner is Nezarix the noivern! Nezarix advances to the next round!"

"And now it's your turn, right Mandy?" Rudo asked, excitedly. "I can't wait to see you in action! I bet you can't wait either, right?"

Mandy looked over at the serious and stoic Xenon, her opponent, as he patiently waited for Alvar to announce the next match.

"Yeah…" Mandy lied to herself. "Can't wait…"

* * *

 **Fire Province: Blaze Desert(30F Mystery Dungeon) 15F: Blaze Oasis: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Crustle's Caravan, Part 6**

 **Moonbrand Present: Magdalene, Gina, Bennett, Verden**

"Have you come to gloat?" The gyarados asked as her large head rested on the shale near the oasis while Magdalene and Bennett approached her, as Verden carried Gina on his back right behind them. "Do me the honor of just ending me if I'll never get to see my treasure again."

"We aren't here to harm or kill you." Magdalene spoke up. "But we do have some questions."

"Hmph." The gyarados was not pleased with being made to give trivia, but her eyes veered towards Bennett, the closest one to her. "Go ahead then, you first, ghost."

"Don't worry, I've got this." Bennett reassured his teammates before turning to the gyarados. "So...how does a pokemon like you make their way to an oasis in the middle of the desert?"

"I was born here." The gyarados responded. "My brothers and sisters all were too, but they traveled far underground to the source of the water. Only I remain up here."

"That's so lonely…" Bennett moped, disappointed in the answer. "I was hoping you could fly or something."

"I'm Magdalene, by the way." Magdalene rolled her eyes at Bennett before introducing herself to the gyarados. "This is Bennett, Verden, and Gina. What's your name?"

"Grutyme." The gyarados responded. "Though I suppose a name is not much use when one lives in solitude."

"Seriously, she's bumming me out, can we leave yet?" Bennett asked.

"Soon." Verden assured him.

"What was the treasure you were talking about anyways?" Magdalene asked Grutyme. "If we knew what it was or what it looked like, we may be able to recover it and bring it back to you."

"My treasure...Maodice…"

"I didn't quite catch that." Gina leaned over from behind Verden. "Did you sneeze just now?"

"It was the name I gave my daughter." Grutyme explained. "Like me, she was the only one of her siblings to stay near the surface, but a shiny pokemon is a rare enough sight already, and since we're out here, it's easy to lump us in with the truly savage pokemon. Hopefully she is alright, as our species line can thrive in even the worst conditions, but I fear for her safety and well-being, after being snatched from me by those bastard thieves."

"You mentioned them earlier." Verden noted. "That they used similar moves to the ones we did?"

"Toxins and mind-moves, yes." Grutyme grunted in annoyance. "Quite annoying really, they would rarely meet me directly in battle."

"Do you know which way they went?" Gina asked. "I bet we could catch up to them if this confrontation was at all recent."

"Further into the desert." Grutyme replied as she shifted her neck and head to point in the direction her former assailants had fled. "There was talk of passing through Geotherm, before heading north to sell her in the Fighting Province."

"We'll be right near Geotherm when we complete this mission." Verden said as everyone huddled together. "We can easily track these guys down."

"I think it's a great idea, but-" Gina looked down at her leg. "A broken bone doesn't heal as easily as a regular wound. Short of a professional healer, my lack of mobility will be detrimental to us, and we barely held our own against Grutyne."

"Try not to be pessimistic. We'll find a way to get your leg back to normal." Magdalene assured her as Verden turned to Grutyne once more.

"One last thing, Grutyne, before we head off, to both complete our mission and now to look for your missing daughter-"

"Maodice."

"Yes, her. In any case, we were wondering if perhaps you'd like to come along with us? I know most of us could certainly benefit from the rain."

"I would, of course, have chased after them myself if I could leave my oasis, but I cannot leave this peaceful area unprotected. One of those accursed campsites may spring up before I return, and they have a nasty habit of stealing our water and valuables. Furthermore, your ghost friend's shadow ball has taken the wind out of me. I need hours, and you don't have a minute to spare. Now get going, and bring my daughter back to me."

"This is sweet, that we're doing this" Gina said as the four trekked onward into the desert, followed by the three caravan carts of items and the two empty ones, "But this is probably a trap."

"Not quite…" Their heliolisk shadow smirked as he hid behind a dune, watching them move on. "But you aren't far off, Moonbrand...keheh."

* * *

 **Fire Province: City of Emberguard: Nobility District: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Espionage in Emberguard, Part 6**

 **Moonbrand Present: Aaron, Hex, Terune**

 _ **Aaron and Hex: Support Rank D Reached**_

"This is something I really don't want to have to do." Aaron grumbled as he and Hex walked towards where Terune was waiting near the entrance to Calbridge Hold.

"What, too proud to be acting as a servant, big guy?" Hex mocked, jokingly.

"Too concerned I'll overdo it, actually." Aaron admitted. "I can be very protective, and a little impulsively violent if I feel a close friend or ally has been slighted. I don't want to cause a scene."

"It sounds to me like you're already prepared then." Hex shrugged. "I'd be more worried about the kid messing up. He doesn't know nobility."

"It's too bad if things go south, we can't just fight all these nobles." Aaron lamented. "It would make this easier. That said, I'm ready for the challenge. After you, estranged duchess."

"Excellent work, retainer." Hex laughed. "Be sure to stay on your best behavior while inside, else you may find yourself demoted to a chamberlain's assistant."

* * *

 _ **Arc Proper**_

 _ **11:50**_

 **Calbridge Hold**

Calbridge Hold's foyer itself was a sparkling den of extravagance. Bright red streamers depicting a raging fire over a desert landscape framed by two black pillars hung from the high ceiling as all manner of noble pokemon and their very own retainers crowded around and socialized.

"Is Aradia even here?" Terune asked, a little overwhelmed.

"If she is here…" Hex looked around as she stepped across the blue and purple carpets, lined with gold thread, lain out across the smoothed limestone floor. "She's near where Visha will greet the guests. We can't approach them yet though, we should probably mingle with the other nobles first. Oh hey, there's one I recognize from the Dragon Province!"

Bai the bagon had her arms crossed in a huff as she hugged the walls of the palace, ready to take her first chance to leave the area.

"Isn't that-" Terune tapped Aaron's shoulder. "Isn't she a member of Team Aspect? That Royal Rank mercenary band from the Dragon Province."

"It's not a Province anymore." Aaron whispered back to him. "They seceded with nearly everyone else, remember? If I recall correctly, it's still Grass, Electric, Flying and Steel in the UGM Province System. Everyone else is back to nations."

"With the exception of this province, which remains on the fence." Hex entered in the conversation.

"Shouldn't you be socializing, milady?" Aaron asked, half-sarcastically.

"I can't with a dragon-province noble, she'd know I'm full of it." Hex shrugged. "There's got to be someone else I can mingle with instead. Although, I _would_ like to know what she's doing here."

"Well, how about…" Aaron looked around. "Him?" He nudged Hex towards a cradily, regailing a swooning manaphy and munchlax with his various exploits.

"Ah, but now I am but an estranged prince of a conquered nation, though I one day will take back what is rightfully my family's and drive The Obsidian Legion out of Petrapis for good."

He turned and noticed Hex. "How do you do, milady? Prince Cameron, at your humble service. I am intrigued to see such a ravishing noble so far from her palace. What is your tale? Surely it warrants a story. Perhaps one of my bards can craft a song for you."

"Well, this is probably going to go south." Aaron realized before turning to Terune. "You have fun, but don't touch anything you aren't supposed to."

Terune gulped as Aaron left him alone.

"Um…*Ahem*." Terune coughed as he got ready to talk in a fake voice. "Yes, I am a noble's retainer. I serve milady...um...what was the fake name we decided on? Hifroli? I serve milady Hifroli. She was once the ruler of a place in Dragon Province...No wait...it's a nation now, so...um…"

"Um...excuse me?" Terune was tapped on the shoulder by a magby about his size. She was dressed in a strange ceremonial gown as an incredibly stern-looking emboar, with a magmar wrapping her arms around his both stood behind her, watching observantly.

"Go-*ahem*" He fixed his voice. "Good day, milady. Why are you dressed like that?"

"I told you this was a bad idea." The emboar griped at the magmar. "The first thing they ask her about is the clothes. This is why I said let her stay in the village, elevate someone into a circle of status. It's what you did with me! We know it works!"

"Oh, you hush. She's still a child, and isn't here to marry anyone right away. She's here to understand how these things work, incase she wants to do something like this on her own one day."

"I still think we shouldn't be here." The emboar grumbled. "And where did that bird go? Nowhere?"

"It's a...crowning robe…" The magby smiled at Terune. "I turned 14 today, so I'm officially old enough to be called a Lady. These are my parents, the Great Lord and Great Lady of Cinders."

"Cinders?" Terune cocked his head. "I'm sorry my Lady, but I serve milady Hifroli, she was of Dragon Province, but has not been in contact with her home since before the merc madness incident. I'm afraid I don't know where Cinders is."

"We're in the south of the province." The magby smiled, eager to share. "Cinders is a great town built along a few canyon paths in the gorges that separate the Flying Province from us! We certainly aren't as fancy as Emberguard is though! Isn't this castle so pretty?"

"Yes, it is." Terune agreed.

"She's made a friend, see?" The magmar nudged the emboar. "She's going to be fine once she has to rule on her own."

"She's made one friend, and it's two a retainer who could be fired within a few weeks time, and who serves someone without any true political power. And seriously, where is that damn bird?"

"I'm T-Terrence, my Lady." Terune had to stop himself from introducing himself using his real name.

"I'm Masti!" The magby beamed happily as she eagerly shook his hand with both her own. "I'm actually Masti VI. My grandmama was Masti V."

"And your mother isn't named Masti?"

"No, she's Mafalta, and my papa is Enren, but mama calls him En!"

"Great Lord En, Grand Lady Mafalta, a pleasure." Terune bowed, mostly hoping to hide all his sweat.

"Hey, is this your first time in Emberguard too?" Masti asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes, actually, it is." Terune announced. "Have you heard the rumors about this place?"

"Nuh-uh." Masti shook her head. "But I heard something real cool on the road over here. Apparently, Sunstorm village, it was being attacked by bandits, but then a huge monster came and drove them out!"

"Oh, there she goes again." En motioned to the now rapidly gossipping Masti and Terune. "Child has her head stuck in the clouds."

"Oh, just let her have this." Mafalta smiled. "Besides, don't you have a 'damn bird' to find?"

"Yeah!" En looked around once more. "If he snuck off again to avoid babysitter duty-"

Meanwhile, Aaron was watching, impressed, as Hex sat through Prince Cameron's boasts about how he could have handled himself against the Obsidian Legion, managing to swoon in sync with the younger and more naive royal women.

"Any info?" He asked, when he noticed Cameron start to take an interest in a nidoqueen noblewoman over his storytelling.  
"None useful to work with." Hex admitted. "But I did get a bit out of him before his Obsidian Legion tirade. Any minute now, Visha's going to open his doors, and will select a few nobles and their retainers to eat lunch with him. There's three classes of nobles in this regard. Those he's invited personally, which include among them those vying for marriage. Next, there are those that have requested to meet with him, and finally, there are those he determines worthy of entering. Usually someone new that's behaved themselves at the party, or perhaps someone who recently rose to power. In any circumstance, the noble can bring only one of their retainers, so it looks like Terune may be sitting lunch out."

As Hex explained this, Visha opened his doors.

"Good day, ladies and gentlemen!" He announced, happily. "I'm pleased to announce that the final charges have been filed, and reconstruction on the outer districts will begin promptly at dawn tomorrow, thanks to our wonderful team of specialist construction workers invited from around all of Ignia!"

The announcement was met with cheer from everyone in the room.

"Furthermore…" Visha continued. "Soon we will be ready to mobilize our forces and take to Geotherm! Out of all the outer cities, it is the only one that still supports the pretender Queen!"

"Okay…" Aaron whispered to Hex amongst more cheers from the fire-types in the room, "I'm back to hating this guy again. A frickin' god chose Tashia, she's not pretending at all."

"Try to hold it in until after the party." Hex half-joked.

"Now, on this glorious day, I invite the following names to dine with me, in honor of all that Ignia, as a nation, has accomplished: Cameron, Prince of Petrapis. Aradia, Marquise of Ignia. En, Great Lord of Ignia. Mafalta, Great Lady of Ignia. Masti, New Lady of Ignia. Mizuko, Princess of Fable. Cailyn, Princess of Fable, Layon, Count of Noironia, Lisariph, Baron of Ignia, and Shusnal, Lord of Momiji. You are each permitted to bring in a single retainer of your choosing should you possess one. The rest of you, please wait until after everyone else has been seated. I will then announce the maximum capacity, and let those worthy among you inside as well.

"Excuse me, miss Hifroli?" Masti tapped Hex on the knee as she walked by.

Hex gave the magby stranger a confused look.

"Can I help you, milady?" She asked.

Masti nodded. "Can you please bring in your retainer Terrence if you get in, later? He's my new friend, and everyone else here is so old."  
"Masti!" Both her parents gasped in unison.

"I'm sure she' didn't mean it like that." Hex laughed, before turning to Aaron.

"Are you okay with that? I know I'll be let in, but are you okay with Terune going and not you?"  
"I'm fine with it, sure." Aaron shrugged. "But what do I do in the meantime?"

"Find Bai. Anyone from the Dragon Province, or I suppose Longguo, if we're doing nation names again, must have something important to say. She was obviously here for a reason."

"Right." Aaron nodded. "Be sure not to let yourself or Terune get hitched at the luncheon. We need you both on the team."

"I'm not a nobleman's lady, so that's probably not too hard." Hex laughed. "Also, keep an eye on Aradia's manor. The other three are probably there now, so make sure no attention accumulates there. If any does, try to disperse it."

Aaron nodded, before heading outside.

 **Outside**

"Finally, you're out." Aaron was almost immediately met with Bai. "You're the aggron from Moonbrand. You were with that weird possessed phantump too. I need help. You need to get to the Ghost Province. It concerns the whereabouts of Garian, the Dragon Province's former UGM representative."

"This sounds like bad news." Aaron clicked his tongue. "What exactly do you need help with?"

"In a word: Giratina."

 **Aradia's Manor**

 _ **12:10**_

 **Moonbrand Present: Charlie, Micah, Semora**

Charlie dug up through the ground and ended up in the first floor of the manor, in a circular room, connected to a narrow hallway, leading to the front door of the household, and three more hallways each leading to the north, west, and south.

"We're in." She whispered to Micah and Semora. "Where should we head first? The basement is probably where _it's_ being kept, but the tether, if it's not on her person, is probably up in her bedroom.

"Should we split up?" Micah asked. "We can reconvene here if we discover anything."

"That would be best." Semora agreed. "I'll go west."

"I'll take south then." Micah determined. "Charlie, you head north."

The three nodded at each other before they each snuck off.

As Charlie kept close to the wall, making sure there were no ghost type spies in the area, she snuck northwards through the manor, until she came across a large room.

"Whoa…" She couldn't help but marvel at its size as she realized that she was only on a second floor, viewing the true room, a floor below.

"The basement." She muttered to herself. "There must be a staircase around her somewhere…"

She looked over the railing as she moved along her viewing balcony. The basement was largely empty. The floor was made of packed sandstone, and other than a small lava fountain, there did not seem to be any sign of life.

"It's not a bust is it?" She grumbled.

Semora's hallway had led her straight to the bedroom of Aradia's servants. "They're likely out shopping right now." She realized as she used her leaf blade to pick a locked door. She looked around the room, hoping to find some sort of journal.

"Ah-ha." She mumbled as she picked up a small bound book, hidden underneath one of the pillows. After once again opening it with a leaf blade, she flipped through the pages.

 _Aradia brought that thing into the manor tonight. Don't know what she's thinking. Girl must have a wish to go to Nowhere early or something. She says it's safe as long as we still feed it, but it's huge. Might as well take it to a tribal camp, let it eat everyone there. At least then it would be ridding the world of the uncivilized pokemon. It's too dangerous to keep cooped up here all day. There's no way she'll have it ready for Visha by the time he heads to Geotherm either. I better stop writing so feverishly before I wake Gretchen up again. Bossy bitch. I hope the Marquise comes to her senses soon. Gretchen is the only monster this manor needs._

"Why _hello_ evidence…" Semora smirked. "We have what we came for, good." She slowly creased the page in the book, before stuffing it into her bag.

"Now, to regroup with the others-"

She was interrupted by a teleporting Micah, who had Charlie with him.

"We have a problem." He looked upset.

"What problem?" Semora's brow furrowed.

Micah touched Semora's shoulder and the three of them teleported down to the lowest level of the basement, housing the lava fountain that Charlie had seen, and nothing else.

"I checked all upstairs." He said. "There isn't a single room that can house a heatran. This is the _only_ one that will work. So where is it?"

"That _is_ unsettling." Semora agreed. "But we didn't come here to fight and destroy the heatran, we came here for proof that Aradia's been keeping it, and-"

She held up the servant's journal. "I've got it."

"Oh, you have proof? Good." Inkeri grunted as she shifted the fake lava fountain out of the way of the secret tunnel she'd used.

"Unfortunately, we aren't quite done...you see, this is the secret tunnel that Aradia uses to take the heatran on... _walks_. It leads directly out of the city, and well-"

"Oh no…" Charlie's eyes widened, as her mind flashed back to the tyrantrum bandit.

 _"Man, we thought we'd try and expand our territory by taking over one of the outer towns, with less guards, but we didn't expect whatever the hell that thing was to be waiting there for us! You better skidaddle too, kids, before you're eaten alive by that monster!"_

"Don't tell me it's been out there this whole time!"

"It's probably halfway to Geotherm by now." Inkeri sighed.

"Then we need to get it out of there!" Charlie exclaimed. "Geotherm is the source of all our power! If it goes down…"

"Exactly." Inkeri nodded. "I hesitate to do this, but I need you guys over there to warn the citizens. I'd rather go without power for a few days or weeks or months, then have power taken away from us permanently. Most importantly though, the queen's parents work there. Their safety is of the utmost priority. Tashia has enough to worry about right now. We don't want to add any more to her plate. Micah, teleport Semora and Charlie to Geotherm, then come back and get Aaron, Terune, and Hex when their done gathering intel with the nobles. I'll send word to the others as well. Hopefully it reaches them in time."

Micah nodded, grabbed Semora and Charlie, and teleported.

As an oricorio cooed a single time, Inkeri emerged on the other side of the secret tunnel.

She gave an exasperated sigh.

"Let's hope things are different this time."

* * *

 _ **AN: Mandy, Xenon, battle strategies would be appreciated, as would strategies for Razr and Faden.**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: Blaze Desert Moonbrand, you guys are nearing the end of your journey, so any preparations you guys might want to make for the fight against the thieves you are now tracking down would also be appreciated.**_

* * *

 _ **AN3: Hex, Terune, you're about to be guests at a noble party, anyone you might want to talk to? Or anything you might want to ask?**_

* * *

 _ **AN4: Aaron, you get about 5 questions total to ask Bai before Micah comes to teleport you to Geotherm, so think on what you might want those to be.**_

* * *

 _ **AN5: Semora and Charlie, you're in Geotherm now. Any special things you want your character to do or look for there? (It's fine if nah)**_

* * *

 _ **AN6: Character App**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all or now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	7. Thank Arceus for the FF App

**Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Wildeburn Summit, Part 7**

 **Moonbrand Present: Bravero, Conlan, Mandy, Ornia, Rudo**

"Match 6" Alvar announced with spread wings. "Mandy the mawile versus Xenon the sceptile, is about to begin! Pokemon ready…"

Mandy gulped as Xenon took a breath.

"Fight!"

"Hm." Xenon silently used a Laser Focus as his eyes scanned Mandy and the surrounding battlefield, almost as if time was slowing down just for him. With it, both Mandy's weak points, and soft spots in the arena's floor became easily visible to him.

"Oh, I hope this works" Mandy muttered under her breath before bringing one hand up to cover her mouth and staring at Xenon as pleadingly as she possibly could as she hoped to Arceus her Attract would work to the same effect as those she saw in Merc Madness. "You don't really wanna fight me, do you mister?" She asked.

"Eh-Oh!" Xenon shook off his initial doubts. She had almost had him.

"Nice try, kid." He responded. "But you're a little too young for that to work on me as effectively as you might want it to."

He fired a Focus Blast from his hands that hit Mandy in the chest as it knocked her backwards, across the arena.

"Ooof…" She groaned as she pulled herself up. "Well, that didn't work as well as I'd hoped, however…" She said as she used a Swords Dance to pick herself back up and move towards her opponent. "I can't back down!"

"That's courageous." Xenon nodded. "A mercenary needs courage, but that isn't enough!" He announced as he fired an Energy Ball from his mouth which Mandy managed to dodge by ducking under it as her head and false mouth began to harden into metal.

"Hrahh!" She yelled as she shot herself towards her opponent with an Iron Head, only to be caught by both hands by Xenon before she could actually do any damage.

"Sorry about this." He apologized before he shot another energy ball directly at point blank range.

Mandy found she could not get up after that blast rocketed her back to the other side of the arena once more.

"Mandy is no longer able to battle, which means the winner is Xenon!" Avlar announced. "He will advance to the next round!"

"Match 7 is up next!" Alvar continued to announce as Mandy rejoined the rest of Moonbrand, feeling rather down.

"Worry not, young mawile." Ornia offered. "With enough training, perhaps your attract can be on the level of a Fable noble's. That said, it would take a lot of training."

"Don't worry about it, Mandy." Rudo gave the mawile actual comfort. "He's a powerful pokemon, and you're still pretty new to all of this. You'll get stronger if you keep at it!"

"Razr the zoroark versus Jaslynn the decidueye!" Alvar remarked as the two pokemon took their places in the arena. "Pokemon ready, fight!"

"Hup!" Razr grinned as he shot an eerie Night Daze from his guitar, which was now in his hands rather than strung across his back.

"As predicted." Jaslynn nodded to herself as she hopped to avoid all the pulses save one which managed to graze her. "You are trying to end this match quickly. However, you misunderstand who will emerge victorious!" She screeched as she charged the zoroark head on with a U-Turn, only to be stopped by a well-timed block with Razr's guitar.

"I don't think you understand this battle, gorgeous." he winked with an Attract, causing Jaslynn to go red and slowly perch down in front of him. "It would be a waste to harm such fierce and determined womon. I'll tell you what though, I'm sure I can convince my teammates to help you out with whatever you need done if you'll do me the honor of allowing me to progress to the next round."

"I...I…" Jaslynn looked around bashfully. "Guess that would be okay…"

"That!" Mandy pointed as she nudged Rudo. "I want my Attract to be as effective as that!"

"It appears that Jaslynn has forfeited the match to Razr!" Alvar exclaimed "which means he moves on to the next round!"

"Finally!" Faden said as he made his way towards one side of the arena while Cochrane made his way to the other side.

"I must represent Queen Tashia to the greatest extent of my abilities." Cochrane nodded to Faden. "While you may have type, and perhaps even rank on your side, I can assure you that I am no pushover."

"Match 8, Faden the feraligatr versus Cochrane the charizard is about to begin!" Alvar announced.

"That's fine by me." Faden smiled. "As long as I finally get some action!"

"Pokemon ready...fight!"

"You may make the first move, opponent!" Cochrane called out.

"If you insist." Faden growled with a grin. "Here I come!" He shouted as he lunged towards Cochrane with a Waterfall attack.

"Hgnh…" Cochrane took the attack head-on, and was only barely able to keep his legs from buckling as he became drenched in water.

"Cochrane, what are you doing?" Satinka called out from the bleachers.

"THIS!" Cochrane yelled as he gripped Faden through the water, and tossed him straight into the ground of the arena, cracking the entire stretch of pavement.

"He knows Counter?" Conlan's eyes widened. He expected a move like Grass Knot or Solar Beam, but this was a rare sight for him.

"Sorry to cut your action short." Cochrane laughed before he was forced to take a knee.

"Damn that Waterfall was some powerful stuff."

"Faden is unable to battle, which means Cochrane is the last of the eight pokemon to move on to the next round!" Alvar smiled. "Now then...after some deliberation with the province rulers, here are the order of the matches!"

Match 1: Gertrude vs Rudo

Match 2: Nezarix vs Xenon

Match 3: Razr vs Cochrane

Match 4: Conlan vs Bravero

"Heck yeah!" Rudo jumped up. "Finally! I get to tear that bitchy gardevoir to pieces!"

"That's an awful lot of enthusiasm for such a vulgar sounding action." Gertrude noted. "But if you insist on not holding anything back against me, then I'll grant you the opportunity to fight me at my full potential."

"Match 1 between Gertrude the gardevoir and Rudo the riolu will now begin!" Alvar announced as both pokemon took their places in the arena. "Pokemon ready...fight!"

"You want to fight me so badly, child, I will allow it!" Gertrude announced as she rose her hand and immediately became shrouded in a pink mist.

"Misty Terrain." Ornia nodded. "It appears Gertrude truly is serious about fighting this partner of yours, Conlan. She hasn't resorted to Hypnosis in this battle. She must believe Rudo to be quite powerful."

"I think she might just be really immature." Conlan rubbed his head.

"Nonsense." Ornia disagreed. "Gertrude is strict, and rude, but she would never be so immature as to use force that she didn't deem necessary."

"Sure…." Conlan didn't quite believe what Ornia was saying, but decided to let it go and focus on the fight.

"Where are you hoping to hide?" Rudo growled as she lunged at Gertrude with a Shadow Claw. "I can see your aura through the mist, you know!"

The Shadow Claw struck Gertrude straight across her face, leaving a long, bright red gash.

"Oh my, I hope that doesn't ruin your beauty." She snapped sarcastically.

"You little-!" Gertrude wiped her bloody gash as she held up a hand and fired a Moonblast at Rudo. "You're going to regret that!"

"Hup!" Rudo flipped back as she avoided the Moonblast. "Am I?" She asked before lunging in again. "Force Palm!"

"Imbecilic girl." Gertrude yawned as she allowed Rudo to make contact, only for her to catch the riolu with one arm. "Were you hoping to paralyze me? I am aware of your dominant strategy. I've seen it before countless times. You are not the first, nor the most effective to use it!"

As she finished belittling Rudo, Gertrude let loose a Dazzling Gleam attack, which Rudo, thankfully for her, was able to close her eyes in time to avoid as she attacked with a blind Shadow Claw that missed its mark as Gertrude let go of her opponent, and fired another Moonblast.

"I can sense it." Rudo boasted as she dodged the attack once more. "Your moves have a similar aura to yourself."

"Perhaps it's time I switch gears then?" Gertrude gave Rudo a devious grin. She spread her arms and with a quick twirl and a thrust, the misty terrain began to dissipate, leaving a sparking Gertrude looking down at Rudo, who found herself rather unable to move.

"So...pretty…" She mumbled.

"Why thank you, little one." Gertrude smiled as she rose her hand again. "Now then…"

She fired yet another Moonblast, this one hitting Rudo in the chest and sending the riolu skidding across the arena.

Rudo looked back up at the sparkling gardevoir, and once again realized she had a tough time moving as she instead focused on how almost regal her opponent looked.

"Oh, that's not good for Rudo." Ornia realized. "She's been hit bad by Gertrude's own Attract attack."

"What?" Conlan rose his brow. "But I know Rudo doesn't-"

"Gertrude's Attract is...a unique case." Comfort the comfey said as he hovered near Conlan.

"She uses it not to inspire feelings of love or lust, but instead to entrance pokemon into legitimate immobility!" Caress the other comfey expanded as he did the same.

"She better snap out of that trance soon then, otherwise one of us is going to be in for a rough time, eh Conlan?" Bravero noted.

"Yeah." Conlan agreed.

"If you cannot move, then perhaps it would be best to end this quickly." Gertrude announced as she began to use Dazzling Gleam once more. One again, however, Rudo managed to avoid the blinding light, however, when she opened her eyes again, she could feel herself lock into place.

"Can't...move...too...entranced!"

"I am the leader of Team Kirei of Fable for a reason, child." Gertrude said as she brought her head down to Rudo's level. "And you are in need of a punishment for your poor behavior towards a superior."

She rose her hand, and fired a Moonblast.

It was clear that Gertrude had won this battle.

"Oh...shit." Conlan realized. "I need to get out on that field, now!"

"She's not dead, you know." Ornia sighed. "She only lost consciousness."

"That's the problem!" Conlan called back as he rushed out.

"You...dare-" Rudo's body began to speak in the demonic voice as it rose up to face Gertrude immediately before being grabbed by Conlan and paraded into the wilderness beyond the arena.

"Well...should one of us follow them?" Gertrude asked.

"No!" Nezarix quickly stood up from his seat, causing heads to turn his way. "Trust me...it's not something any of us want to see."

"Will he be back for his match?" Bravero asked.

"Probably." Nezarix nodded. "Which reminds me that I suppose now is my turn again!"

* * *

 **Fire Province: Blaze Desert(30F Mystery Dungeon) 29F: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Crustle's Caravan, Part 7**

 **Moonbrand Present: Bennett, Gina, Magdalene, Verden**

The sandy dunes of the desert had slowly begun to be replaced by craggy badlands, host to tough and resilient flora growing out of the cracks in the ground.

Rain was clearly at most a once-a-year occurrence.

The sun was beginning to set in the sky, and the arid air was remarkably cooler thanks to both the change in time and the change in location.

"We're almost to the end of this legends forsaken mystery dungeon." Cassius sighed as Gina and Magdalene rode with him in the rear cart while Bennett and Verden maintained diligent watch over the left and right sides of the caravan respectively. "I'm sorry about what happened to your leg."

"It's fine." Gina responded. "I'm told there's a healer in Geotherm, so Verden and I will stop there after the mission."

"Don't leave me alone with the ghost." Magdalene pleaded as she worked on making sure that all the items in the carts were securely stacked so that those with more value were buried under the more expendable ones.

"There. Even if those thieves do manage to break into the carts, they'd need to know where everything was beforehand if they wanted the stuff that would really sell."

"I appreciate the assistance." Cassius muttered shyly. "This mission must be taking a toll on all four of you."

Gina and Magdalene looked at each other, each one unsure of where this shy praise was coming from.

"Aren't you in some sort of hurry?" Magdalene finally asked. "You were quite impatient when we met you outside the mystery dungeon."

"I suppose I'm more calm now that we're almost through." Cassius smiled.

Gina's eyes narrowed and she attempted to stand up, but her leg kept her down.

"Don't push yourself!" Magdalene walked over to her to make sure she was alright.

"I won't." Gina promised.

Meanwhile, Verden and Bennett were having their own conversation towards the head of the caravan.

"So, we're almost to the end of the desert then?" Bennett asked.

Verden nodded. "Yes, and if my experience as a slaver has taught me anything, it's that a lot of ne'er-do-wells like to set up camps on these end floors. We've almost arrived at Geoid Mesa, where I'm willing to bet our thieves have set up their camp."

"I remember Grutyme saying that there were four thieves back when we first arrived at the oasis." Bennett brought up. "How does each one of us taking on one thief sound?"

"Good in theory." Verden replied "However, we have an injured Gina, a caravan that needs protection, and a magikarp to save if at all possible. I've been trying to reach the other Moonbrand members, but nothing but an emergency warp function shows any signs of working, and that would involve us forfeiting the mission entirely and returning to Lightgrasp. I'd rather not have anyone press that button for obvious reasons."

"The CASH MONEY!" Bennett exclaimed.

"Sure, Bennett." Verden laughed. "Just be on your guard. The thieves allegedly use poison and 'mind-moves', whatever those are. I'm willing to bet they're moves to cause confusion, but you never know.

"Mind-moves…" Bennett mumbled to himself as he began to think back to a few of his earlier fights in the mission.

"What was wrong with me back then?" He quietly wondered.

As the two continued to walk, their heliolisk shadow scurried to various desert trees behind them as he kept an eye on them.

"Hajari." A voice cooed behind him.

The heliolisk spun around. "Was that-?" He wondered for a brief moment, before turning back to shadow his marks, only to come face to face with a yellow Oricorio.

"Ah!" The heliolisk backed up. "Look, sir, I can explain-!"

"If the caravan gets to Geotherm, you know who wins this silly Fire Province civil war?" The oricorio asked, before giving his own answer. "A single side. You were supposed to have manipulated the thieves in the area to neutralize the objective back before they even reached the oasis, when they'd be exhausted and at each other's throats!"

"They're coming up on the thieves' campsite now, sir!" Hajari croaked to curry favor. "Rest assured, the caravan will be stopped and the loose ends will be, kekek, taken care of."

"No. The loose ends you are talking about are to remain alive as witnesses. The battle about to take place at Geotherm is going to be the perfect opportunity. Just when her back is against wall, and Tashia has no one else to turn to, that's when we of the Electric Province will swoop in and save the day, proving to the Queen that remaining with the UGM is a benefit! For this plan to work, you need to follow your orders exactly, do you understand? Or would you rather we send you back into Silverstorm's dungeon, this time on death row?"

"Kyeh!" Hajari hissed. "Of course, but what if the bandits themselves prove to be able to do away with the guards? I've observed them. They don't belong to the same Moonbrand as the days of old. This one is new, and besides the human leader, has no true renown or uniqueness. Other than perhaps a ragtag group of children, veteran failures, and reforming criminals."

"If you really think that the bandits will kill the guards themselves, then you should deal with them." The oricorio responded as he sighed. "In case I wasn't clear, I meant kill the thieves, not the guards. Understood, Hajari?"

"Keh. Understood, sir." The heliolisk nodded seriously, before the oricorio motioned for him to take his leave and catch up to the caravan.

When he was absolutely sure that Hajari was gone, the oricorio let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh man…" He reached into a pouch on his waist and poured the nectar down his throat as he returned to his natural red Baile style forme. "How was that?" He asked. "Too demanding?"

"It was fine." Inkeri smiled as she walked up and stood in front of him, offering the bird another pouch to put on his sash. "You must be tired after the week I've been putting you through."

"I'll say!" He squawked. "First you have me stationed in the Electric Province keeping an eye on any UGM activity, then you move me straight to Emberguard to play babysitter for a visiting noble, then you pull me away from that to watch the new Moonbrand go about their espionage mission! Do you know how degrading it felt to be a clock? I've said it once, Boss, I'll say it again. I might be a good spy, but I still have my limits. Sometimes I feel like you're asking me to be in three places at once! Why not hire some other spies for help?"

"The point of putting the mercenary teams who don't normally specialize in espionage missions is to gauge who has the best aptitude for it." Inkeri replied. "I've been busy too you know. It's not just Moonbrand that I'm the boss of. But it is just Moonbrand that I'm involving you directly with. You're the first in a long time to show so much aptitude for deception and stealth during my training regiment. That's why I'm confident you can handle what I ask of you."

"I guess I would let you know up front if you really were asking too much, huh?" The oricorio smiled as he looked out at Geoid Mesa and Geotherm resting atop it along with Inkeri.

"Boss, a Type 2 heatran is too much for me to be able to handle."

"I know, kid." Inkeri laughed. "You won't be there to fight it. I've got a more important job for you now. Look at the nectar inside the pouch I just gave you."

The oricorio opened the pouch and his eyes widened.

"Boss, what makes you think that I could possibly be able to go there and not immediately be caught?"

"Because the pokemon you're thinking of right now is not the one who you are spying on. In fact, you might say that I'm sending you there to spy for them."

"Well then." The bird's grin came back. "In that case, I'm more than happy to go there. It might be fun to witness what I've heard so much about so recently."

"One last thing, Ozrun." Inkeri said as she grabbed the bird's leg preventing him from flying off.

"I was told that you were being quite the social butterfree at Visha's luncheons. I just want to let you know, that any unforeseen...expenses, you end up with are coming out of your pay. So let's try to stay professional this time and think with the head above your chest."

"Okay, okay…" Ozrun replied as he fluttered his feathers trying his best to fly off. "Now come on, please let me go!"

"Good luck." Inkeri let the bird go as he zoomed off to the east.

 **30F Geoid Mesa**

"Well...here we are…" Verden looked around. "I don't see any thieves just yet though…"

"Well, they have to be somewhere around here don't they? They aren't already inside the city are they?" Bennett seemed confused by what was going on.

"Hm…" Verden took out his toxic orb, and as he held it close to his body, knelt down and leaned his ear in towards the ground.

"It's not that they aren't here…" He said as he stood up, before firing a seed bomb into the middle of the mesa.

"What was that?" A voice asked, and rising footfalls began to sound throughout the area.

"Gina, Magdalene, we're smoking these guys out from hiding!" Bennett called back to the cart.

"Right!" Magdalene left the cart with Gina and Cassius as she reconvened with Bennett and Verden.

"Hey." Gina got Cassius's attention and nodded towards the thin hood of the cart. "Care to give me a boost so I can make a hole in that and provide some ranged support?"

"Huh? Oh! Uhhh...sure." Cassius nodded.

As he scuttled towards Gina, getting mere centimeters away from her, she let out an Ice Shard, pushing Cassius out of his cart.

"Ah-!" He began as he tried to get back on, but before he could, Gina had already managed to limp over to behind where Cassius had been adamantly resting.

"I knew it!" She shouted as she looked over all the allegedly 'stolen' goods from the now missing carts. "I knew this mission paid too well! This is a set up!"

"No, you've got this all wrong! I don't have anything to do with the thieves! I just thought, you know, that if I could replicate a few of the items, I might be able to sell to more pokemon and get a little more money! That's all, I swear!"

Gina wasn't buying it.

"That doesn't explain your eagerness to get this mission done with while we were still at the edge of the desert, and your strange switch of mood that happened at the oasis."

"Uh...Uh….Uhhhh…Gah!" Cassius fired a Smack Down and began to scuttle away into the desert as fast as he could.

Gina looked at where the shot that had just narrowly missed her had landed, and back at the hurrying, but ever so slow moving crustle that had fired it.

Meanwhile, Magdalene, Verden, and Bennett came face to face with four thieves.

A swalot, a mimikyu, a golurk, and a magcargo.

As each thief charged in, Hajari the heliolisk was waiting in a small crevice just below the mesa.

* * *

 **Fire Province: City of Emberguard: Calbridge Hold(Visha's Luncheon Chamber): Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Espionage in Emberguard, Part 7**

 **Moonbrand Present: Hex, Terune**

The first thing that Hex and Terune realized about the luncheon chamber was that it led to many smaller side rooms through various numbered doors.

"Come on, go invite him into one!" a primarina was shaking a carbink as she tried her best to nudge the noble towards prince Cameron. "You're both part rock type so you'll click, like, instantly! Forget about that lowborn back home, and nab yourself a handsome foreign prince!"

"While that 'lowborn' is another reason I most certainly will not invite that pokemon into one of those rooms, I have a much more valid reason to refuse." The carbink turned to the primarina. "Those rooms are hideous."

Meanwhile, nobles of all sorts were socializing with each other over perfectly roasted tauros.

"And what happened then?" Layon laughed as he chatted up a luxray sitting next to him at the large feast table.

"Why exactly, are you, someone only let in on good behavior, sitting up near Visha himself?" A larvesta eyed Hex as she sat in between himself and Visha, and across from Aradia on the other side of the table.

"Lisariph, don't be rude to our guests." Visha scolded before turning to Hex. "I am sorry about my nephew. He is very protective of family members."

"I don't blame him, milord." Hex smiled back as she got ready to ask Visha an important question. "I have a question for you though. I am from Longguo originally and have only arrived in Ignia recently. However, I do remember watching the eruption of Mt. Immolate on the news, and I was curious. This queen is new and has been chosen. Why do you call her false and hate her so passionately?"

"Oh, you must be referring to the speech earlier." Visha nodded. "It's true, Tashia was chosen to lead our nation. In that regard she is not false, however that was not my meaning. It comes down to experience. Tashia is, for better or worse, of common blood, and has had no training on how to rule a kingdom effectively. It's not an easy job, and it is often thankless. I arrived in Flamewater that day prepared to lose the trial to another noble, although I would likely still be angry about it. However, imagine being raised your entire life to rule, rule one of the largest cities in the province effectively, and then to be ignored in favor of a peasant?" Visha's voiced raised slightly. "I'm sorry, it's simply that Tashia would be too trusting of any advisor, and a puppet regime could quite easily take hold. It doesn't help that B largely ignored the outer cities while he was in power, and that so far, Tashia has simply ruled as he would have. The outer cities were easily rallied, and so here we are now. Honestly, I don't want this war to go on for much longer. The real threat to us isn't Tashia or the Obsidian Legion. It's the dying UGM. Most nations have cut the lines that connected to the warp system, but some cities still hold out near the Electric Province. When a powerful organization has its back to the wall, they start to do terrible things."

"You have given this far more thought than I would have assumed, milord." Hex responded, honestly shocked by how, if perhaps misguided, understandable Visha's situation was.

"Now, I have a question for you, Lady Hifroli of Longguo." Visha smiled. "You say you are from Longguo, but haven't been back since the merc madness incident, so you don't know about its current state of affairs, correct?"

"That's correct." Hex nodded.

"In that case, I must ask...what were you doing to cause your separation from your nation during such a tumultuous time?"

"Lord Visha, with all do respect, I would rather not answer. I can never know who may be listening in on this conversation."

"If there are any dangerous spies in this building, I have faith that Aradia here will take care of them." Visha laughed as Aradia blushed meekly. "She might look soft and sweet, but she's one tough cookie. She's stopped my own assassination a multitude of times since I took the Emberguard throne."

"Lord, in the answer you gave me to my last question, I noticed you said that the UGM was a bigger threat than the Obsidian Legion, but I just wanted to clarify...aren't you concerned about them at all?"

"Perhaps you weren't paying attention to the city's outer districts." Visha's tone up until then had been pleasant. Now it was dead serious. "I am fully aware of what the Obsidian Legion is capable of. I would not say that they do not pose significant danger, but I would also not call my feelings on the matter 'concern'. After all, Emberguard is known for political intrigue, and my spies have made use of it while the legion was busy attacking the city. I know a key weakness of their prominent figures, which makes Ignia the silliest idea in terms of a nation to attack."

"Which is?" Hex wondered as Visha shook his head.

"You aren't the only one who can never be too careful in conversations." Visha responded before turning to Aradia.

"By the way, Aradia. I hear you're working on something really important at your manner. I'm getting curious as to what it is, since there's a rumor going around that it will be a great help to Emberguard."

"Oh, it will be!" Aradia perked up and smiled. "It's still not quite finished yet, but I've been busy every day with it, and I'm sure you'll love it once it's ready to be presented to you!"

"Good, good." Visha nodded as he noticed En and Mafalta leaving one of the side rooms. "Ah!" He got up. "En, my good friend, it's been too long!"

Hex took this opportunity to talk to Aradia.

"I really like your ring." Hex noted the ring on Aradia's finger. "It's absolutely gorgeous."

"Thank you." Aradia smiled. "It was passed down to me by my mother back when she was the Marquise of Emberside."

"Do you know where it came from originally?" Hex asked to be met with a silently shaking head.

"I was always told the ring was made by Reshiram back when he still walked the world as a living god. It holds a special place inside my heart, so I try to wear it at all times."

Meanwhile, Terune and Masti were talking to each other at the other end of the table.

"So, do you like books too, Masti?" Terune asked.

"Uhm…" Masty cocked her head with a sheepish smile. "The books that my parents make me read are all really boring books that are meant to educate me. None of the fun ones like heroes going on grand adventures or anything. So I can't say that I really like to read, but I do like stories! Especially stories with a happy ending!"

"M-me too!" Terune wasn't sure how to progress the conversation any further. "S-so, um...what happened at Sunstorm?"

"Hm?" Masti cocked her head again. "I already said everything I know. Bandits were attacking, but then some monster came and chased them all out! Lady Aradia was really upset after that though. She used to stop by Sunstorm all the time, but I heard she's been spending most of her time in her manor here in Emberguard now. I really don't know that much. Ask papa or mama and they'll prolly tell you that they don't know that much either. I bet only Aradia knows for sure."

There was silence.

Masti looked around.

"So, do you like the stars?"

"Huh?" Terune asked.

"The stars! At night when you look up at them, do you like looking at the stars?"

"I guess so." Terune pondered. "Why do you ask?"

"I love looking at the stars! I know all the constellations from Rayquaza's Tail to Latios and Latias! It's kind of like reading a book without any paper and with more imagining!"

"Hey, Masti, what do you think the monster was that chased the bandits off?" Terune wondered.

"Oooh! That sounds like a fun thing to think about!" Masti smiled, excitedly. "Uhm….It must've been big! An' powerful too! So I bet it was a relatively large, fully evolved pokemon, maybe even a legendary."

"Would a heatran fit that description?" Terune asked, to be responded to by a nodding Masti.

"Yeah, but we can think of a more exciting monster, right?"

Back on the other end of the main table, Hex had some more questions for Aradia.

"So, Marquise Emberside-" Hex began.

"You can call me Aradia if I can call you Hifroli." Aradia offered. "I don't like formalities all too much."

"Aradia." Hex nodded. "I was wondering, what's your take on the queen? I understand Visha's feelings on the matter."

"I don't really care about the queen all that much." Aradia shrugged. "I mean, I am not part of the revolution because of any circumstances surrounding the queen at least. I'm part of the revolution only to help Visha. That said, I would certainly prefer we win the war. Being the duchess of Emberguard would be great, but being the queen of Ignia would be incredible!"

"Ah, that's right. These luncheons are for Visha to meet eligible marriage candidates aren't they?" Hex responded, hoping her feigned ignorance at the event's purpose would help Aradia let her guard down.

Aradia nodded. "I'm the last of the female Ignia nobles still vying." Aradia boasted proudly. "Right now, the only one I still need to be wary of is that primarina, Mizuko."

Hex nodded, and pretended that she didn't hear Aradia mumble "Fable whore" under her breath.

"By the way, Aradia." Hex decided to try one last thing to see how it would affect the braixen. "As I was traveling to Emberguard, I caught notice of something strange, and I was wondering if you could shed some light on it. It looked like a savage heatran, and boy was it big and hungry! Why, it might have been big enough to be a type 2 legendary!"

"I see." Aradia nodded. "And when did you get here, Hifrolti?" She asked.

"Not terribly long ago." Hex shook her head. "About a week has passed by now." She lied.

Aradia nodded as she folded her fingers and rested her head on the back of her hands.

She smiled.

"Yes, I am aware of the pokemon you're talking about. It ravaged the town of Sunstorm not all that long ago. You likely saw it fleeing the scene then. It's known around these parts for having a monstrous appetite. Hopefully some mercenary band will deal with it soon. My guards have not been having the best luck with it."

"Aradia, not to change the subject so quickly, but I was wondering...Visha said that his forces were going to march on Geotherm, will you be there with them to give Visha support in person?"

"I'll certainly be mobilized and moving along with Visha." Aradia nodded. "However, I likely will not partake in any battle, and instead I'll remain well outside the city gates. My ring is very precious to me after all, and I wouldn't want it damaged or stolen by anybody. I-" She stopped momentarily and noticed Mizko talking with Visha. "I'm sorry, Hifrolti. It was nice to finally talk to a female noble who wasn't looking for Visha's hand, but I need to go stop a disaster before it happens. Stop by one of these luncheons again some time! I've got loads I want to ask about your experiences! Farewell!"

And with that, Aradia rushed towards Visha to pull him away from her rival.

"Well...she's at least not openly impolite or rude...for most things." Hex mumbled to herself as she stood up. "I guess I'll go get Terune."

As she stood up, she noticed Terune and Masti both walking towards her.

"Yes?"

"Lady Hifrolti?" Masti asked. "What are the numbered rooms for?"

Hex sighed, and pat both Terune and Masti on their heads.

"They're for adults to play grown up games." She said. "You should wait a few years before either of you decide to enter one. Also, Terrence, it's time for us to leave."

"But-!" Masti began to protest.

Hex turned to her. "New Lady Masti, I'm sure you will be able to find other friends to keep you company until you can see Terrence again."

"But I don't want to say goodbye to Terrence! I want him to come back to Cinders as one of my retainers!"

"Eh?!" Terune seemed shocked. "R-really?"

"Masti, Terrence is my retainer to do with as I see fit." Hex explained. "I'll keep in touch with you, alright? This doesn't have to be the last time you see Terrence."

"Fine." Masti sighed before smiling at Terune. "Have fun Terrence! I hope you come back with lots and lots of stories to tell!"

"Me too." Terune nodded with a smile.

 **Outside**

As Hex and Terune left the great castle and made their way into the blistering heat of outdoor Emberguard, they were almost immediately met by Micah.

"How did it go?" He asked.

"Aradia has the tether on her person. She'll be among forces led by Visha on their way to Geotherm soon enough, she's very polite in person to the point her actions don't quite match her character, and I think Terune might become the next Lord of Cinders in half a decade."

Terune quietly nodded in agreement.

"Well, if Geotherm is the destination, I'm glad to hear it." Micah responded. "I've already sent everyone else ahead, Aaron included. However, we have a problem. That heatran is probably already attacking, so we don't have much time. We have to get to Geotherm and stall for as long as we can, otherwise we can kiss all of the province's power goodbye."

* * *

 _ **AN: Bravero, Nezarix, Xenon, Razr, ya'll can send in your strats for the next fights!**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: Bennett, Magdalene, Verden, ya'll can send in your strats for the fight with the thieves! Gina, you can either fight with them, or pursue the fleeing Cassius, but you can't focus on both of them at once.**_

* * *

 _ **AN3: OC Sheet**_

 ** _OC Name, Sex, Species:_**

 ** _OC Home Province (Where they are from):_**

 ** _OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):_**

 ** _OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):_**

 ** _OC Moveset:_**

 ** _Move 1(From Natural Movepool):_**

 ** _Move 2(From Natural Movepool):_**

 ** _Move 3(From Natural Movepool):_**

 ** _Move 4(From Natural Movepool):_**

 ** _Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):_**

 ** _Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):_**

 ** _OC Personality:_**

 ** _OC Background:_**

 ** _Anything Else Doobop Should Know:_**

* * *

 ** _That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^!_**


	8. Things No One Expected To Happen

**Fire Province: City of Emberguard: Temple of Moltres: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Resurgence Of The Renegade, Prologue Part 1**

 **Moonbrand Present: Aaron**

The temple of Moltres itself was well-light, by both torches inside the towering chapel as well as sunlight shining in from the roof that had yet to be repaired from an Obsidian Legion attack a few months earlier.

"I'm sorry to try to drag you into this." Bai reluctantly apologized as she closed the chapel door behind Aaron and herself as the aggron observed the sanctuary with wonder.

A statue to the goddess Moltres herself, one of the Fire Province's earliest documented deities of light, fire, and the season of spring, stood at the end of a long crimson carpet-way.

"First, I'd like to know what 'this' even is." Aaron grunted. "You can't just say Giratina and expect me to know what you mean by that. I want to know where it is, what the threat level is, and what this giratina might be doing!"

"I'd thought it would be obvious." Bai chided back in response. "I don't mean any old giratina, I mean Giratina, the god of violence, antimatter, gravity, opposition, and ruler of Nowhere before Arbiters began to replace him during the waning years of the Age of Reshiram. Theobold's been busy helping my father keep our nation in order as best we can. It's hard when we've got to worry about the UGM from the west, the Obsidian Legion from the north, and well...The wilderness to the south of Longguo is host to all sorts of nasty pokemon. Too much turmoil, so we're keeping all our problems close to home. Now is not the time to be indebted to another province. In any case, because of this, I was busy trying to tack down Garian the garchomp, our former representative, in order to get answers out of him behind his disappearance. During my quest, I noticed a passenger had turned up on a ship to the Ghost Province under a name that's a common alias that Garian used when he wanted to avoid detection. However, while I was doing that, Theobold was uncovering secrets back home, and we learned that Garain's been having frequent dealings, and may even be a member of, a group of pokemon that call themselves The Acolytes of Giratina. I believe that with the chaos and entropy present and rising in the four corners of the continent, that group may try to summon Giratina as a god back to the mortal world. If that happens, our entire continent might as well become just one big realm of Nowhere, that's how dangerously violent Giratina is. It takes the strength of legends to stand up to a god, a _real_ god, and slaying one has never been recorded in history, period. That's why I want your help."

"I'm sorry, you must have my team confused with the old Moonbrand. We are in _no_ state to take on something like that. What made you seek us out in the first place? What do you expect us to do about this?"  
"To be brutally honest, I arrived at that luncheon party looking for aid from other nobles, but the only ones who weren't horny, or only concerned with maintaining rank through marriage, were in no condition to help me or lend aid. I had no intention of asking your team specifically for help at first, but then I remembered the special circumstance surrounding your team."  
"The human leader?" Aaron guessed.

Bai shook her head. "I suppose that is special as well, but I was more referring to what appears to be a complete disregard for the dangers inherent in high-ranking missions. You're also the mercenary band that seems to accept anything from anyone who asks. You want to know what I expect you to do about any of this? I expect you to do your job as mercenaries and head to Wamekufa, that's the Ghost Province, and get back to me with an actual answer about whether or not there even _is_ a ritual to summon Giratina going on. If you can find definitive proof, then my father can devote his time to devising a way to counteract the cultists."

"So, you want us to go to the Ghost Province, snoop around looking for this Acolytes of Giratina group, and determine whether or not they're trying to summon Giratina." Aaron repeated what Bai had told him back to her. "Why can't you do it yourself?"

"If I could do it myself, I'd have done it already and I wouldn't be asking another mercenary band for help! Listen, I've already explained how Longguo is surrounded on all sides by potential invaders, and my father is strong, no doubt, but he is far from invulnerable, and should he fall in battle, I must be there to succeed him as Longguo's new empress. If I am not there, if I am killed in the field, Longguo would be left without a leader, unless Garian showed up again, at which point, our proud and ancient nation would have sealed its fate. Finally, there's something important about Moonbrand specifically that I believe merits sending you above all other mercenary bands. Your team is already on good terms with the Arbiter herself, or at least, she seems fond of you."

"So, what can we do to help?" Aaron sighed. "I get that you want us to head to the Ghost Province and collect information, but how are we supposed to relay it back to you? What _specifically_ do you need us to do?"

"I need you to track down Garian and shadow him. Note him engaging in suspicious activity in the Ghost Province, and then head to the north of the isle and hand the evidence off to Team Aspect's newest member who will be waiting at the docks. He's one of father's finest marine soldiers, and don't worry about what he looks like or his species. He'll beckon _you_ over when he sees you."

"So, is there any recommended size of a party to send over for this job?" Aaron grunted as he scratched his head. He doubted a full mercenary team would even be enough.

"Truthfully, as long as they can avoid suspicion, as many as possible," Bai sighed "but to give a specific answer, i'd say-gahh!"

She jumped back as Micah appeared in between the two of them.

"I'm sorry." He nodded at Bai. "But I must relieve Aaron of this meeting. We've been called upon to defend Geotherm, I will make sure whatever message you gave him reaches the rest of us.

"Hey, wait-" Aaron began, but it was too late. Micah grabbed his arm and teleported.

* * *

 **Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Wildeburn Summit, Part 8**

 **Moonbrand Present: Bravero, Conlan, Mandy, Rudo, Ornia**

"Match #10 between Nezarix the noivern and Xenon the sceptile will now begin!" Alvar spread his wings as both pokemon took to the cracked arena. "Pokemon ready, fight!"

"You got this, Xenon!" Razr cheered his teammate on from the sidelines. "Let's meet each other in the semis!"

"The Flying Province could use that money, Nezarix!" Faden called out to his own teammate. "Show these guys what it means to truly be a royal rank mercenary!"

"Who do you think is going to win this one, Ornia?" Bravero asked.

"Nezarix, if he remains in the air again, has the distinct advantage, but it would be foolish to assume Xenon is not at least a little prepared for that situation." The carbink responded, before adding "I would also like to point out that I am not a mercenary database, and shouldn't be sought out for my opinions on strangers so often."

Nezarix immediately took off and with a quick thrust of his talon launched an Air Slash at Xenon with such force that it knocked the sceptile back a few feet as well as opened a small hole in the ground of the arena where everyone could clearly see magma bubbling below the ground.

Well, everyone except Xenon, who was busy flinching from the forceful wind in his arceus-damn eyes. This presented Nezarix with an opportunity that he eagerly took as he fired a Flamethrower at the sceptile, who managed to regain his sight just in time to avoid any direct hit, instead only feeling the fire graze the spores on his back as he ducked under the jet of fire and rolled out of its range.

"I guess I have to." He sighed as he struck a calm pose and the world shook for a small moment, before the spores on his back opened up and his tail grew immensely as a product of his mega-evolution, before he aimed it over his shoulder like a gun and fired a Dragon Pulse at the flying noivern, blasting him back quite a few feet in the air.

"So that's a mega-evolved pokemon's power." Ornia, despite her earlier claim, appeared to be studying everything that each mercenary did. "To think a rank A mercenary able to deal so much damage to a royal rank mercenary in a single blow...What a phenomenon."

"Heh, well, if you're going to play it like that…" Nezarix grinned as he disappeared from Xenon's field of vision, replaced by a substitute that looked exactly like him.

"You think you're the only one with that move?" Xenon laughed as he too disappeared and left behind his own carbon copy substitute.

"No, but I'm the only one of the two of us with _Infiltrator_!" Nezarix responded as a Draco Meteor attack descended from the heavens above, burying both Xenon and his substitute in a mound of meteorites.

As Nezarix reappeared and dug Xenon up, the outcome was clear.

"Xenon is unable to battle, which makes the winner of this match Nezarix!" Alvar announced. "Nezarix moves onto the semifinals!"

"Nezarix beat Xenon?" Conlan asked as he and Rudo returned from the wilderness.

"Yeah." Bravero nodded. "Next up is Razr and Cochrane, so we should probably go prepare for our fight too."

"So, where in Tapu Lele's name did you go?" Ornia asked Rudo as she sat down while Conlan and Bravero left to go get ready for their own fight.  
"I uh…" Rudo blushed heavily as she looked away and avoided eye contact with either Ornia or Mandy. "I'd rather keep what I was just doing private…Let's watch Razr and Cochrane fight! Come on!"

"Match #11 will now begin!" Alvar announced once Razr and Cochrane had taken their places on either side of the now meteorite-covered arena. "Razr the zoroark versus Cochrane the charizard! Pokemon get ready...fight!"

Razr grinned as he thought a Nasty Plot to himself while looking over Cochrane. He was no fool. He'd seen Cochrane's last match, and wasn't about to let Counter do him in. Instead, he began to think up a much more preferable strategy.

"I serve Queen Tashia," Cochrane announced as he stepped one foot forward "ordained by Reshiram, and as such I will shine the light of truth down upon this battlefield!" He stepped forward with his other foot and the red clouds in the air parted to let the large blistering sun heat up the battlefield immensely.

"That Sunny Day...really put Bravero's earlier one to shame…" Mandy said as she began to fan herself with her fake mouth as well as her left hand.

"Now that we're done with our arms race…" Razr grinned. "Let's make some _noise_!" He strummed a Night Daze across his guitar and the fast-moving pulses of darkness smacked Cochrane square in the charizard's chest.

"For Ignia!" Cochrane yelled as he cloaked his entire body in roaring flames and lunged himself and a low altitude towards Razr, ramming himself straight into the zoroark, causing them both to tumble to one end of the arena.

"That Flare Blitz was extremely powerful." Tashia noted.

"More like extremely reckless." Satinka crossed her arms. "What has Inkeri been teaching him? Look at how bruised he is now!"

"Hngh…" Razr grunted as both he and Cochrane staggered to their feat. "Glad you've got so much fight in you." He steadied his guitar. "But can you handle _THIS_!" He shouted with a Hyper Voice as he strummed on his guitar knocking the Charizard back towards the center of the arena.

"Cochrane, you got this!" Rudo cheered. "Come on, get up!"

"I don't think he will." Gertrude shook her head.

"Hrngh…" Cochrane put his hands to the ground and began to push himself up.

"I...will fight...for-" But as he was completing his speech, the sunlight shining upon him seemed to suck the last of his energy away, and he collapsed back onto the ground.

"Cochrane is unable to battle!" Alvar announced. "Razr is the winner and moves onto the semifinals!"

"Well…" Satinka smiled as Cochrane was helped off the arena by Razr after he came to "For a vet a few decades out of combat, he didn't do too bad."

"Match #12 is about to start!" Alvar announced as Bravero and Conlan took their places on the arena.

"Go Conlan! Go Bravero! Put up a good fight!" Rudo cheered before shaking Ornia. "Come on, cheer your teammates on!"

"I would prefer to observe silently."

"You guys can do it!" Mandy cheered along with Rudo.

"You ready?" Conlan asked Bravero as he took a fighting position.

"I'm ready." Bravero replied with a grin. "You haven't seen all my tricks yet."

"And you haven't seen all of mine."

"Bravero the blaziken versus Conlan the monferno!" Alvar announced. "Pokemon ready...fight!"

"Here I come!" Conlan immediately disappeared as Bravero lowered a fist. Conlan then reappeared right in front of Bravero at fired off a Mach Punch that the blaziken managed to catch in one had before he used his lower fist to deliver a Sky Uppercut to Conlan's chest, sending the monferno flying up into the air.

"Conlan!" Rudo stood up, concerned.

I'm really high up, Conlan thought to himself, too high up to allow myself to fall.

"Hngh…" He somersaulted in the air so that he could get his bearings and noticed Bravero down on the arena.

"If you aren't going to come to me, I'll come to you!" Bravero announced as he rocketed upwards with another Sky Uppercut at the ready.

"I'm not letting that hit me again!" Conlan announced as he lunged into and then launched himself off of Bravero's shoulders with an Acrobatics, throwing the blaziken back down towards the arena while he landed on the other side.

Bravero slid across the ground, over the magma hole, and soon rushed back towards Conlan, this time with a toxified foot for a Poison Jab attack.

Conlan noticed the attack and quickly bounded towards Bravero, prepared to jump for another Acrobatics, both attacks not managing to hit either fighter as they nimbly dodged out of the way with the rest of their bodies.

"This isn't going to end well for you if you stall." Bravero warned as he lunged forwards with another Poison Jab. "I get faster as this battle progresses!"  
"I, ugh!" Conlan was hit by a Poison Jab, though he managed to counter it and the succeeding Poison Jabs with his own Fury Swipes attack. "I know that! But I'm not about to give up. I still have a ticket out of this!"

"Really?" Bravero asked as he prepared himself with a Bulk Up, and then rushed forwards with a Poison Jab, though when he was halfway to Conlan, he also lit up the leg for a Blaze Kick, which caused the toxins to immediately explode, sending him back to where he had started.

"I see what you were going for." Conlan nodded. "That exploding poison was how I managed to win my earlier match after all. But I still have this handled!" He announced as he shot out a large Fire Spin from his mouth aimed at Bravero. "If you can't move, your speed means nothing!"

"But I'm too fast for that move to hit me." Bravero grinned as he lunged out of the way and rushed towards Conlan with another Poison Jab.

Conlan ducked down. "But how well can you multitask?" He wondered aloud as he shot out another Fire Spin to retaliate before lunging himself up into the air,

"Hrahh!" Bravero was forced to stop his Poison Jab in order to dodge the Fire Spin attack while Conlan landed on the other side of the blaziken, who also was able to dodge the Acrobatics sweep he made with his foot.

"Face it, I'm too fast for you!" Bravero rushed toward Conlan once again attempting to combine his Poison Jab with a Blaze Kick.

"Oh?" Conlan grinned as he disappeared, before reappearing behind Bravero. "How did this match start?"

He swung his Mach Punch, and it would have hit, but Bravero used his exploding kick to his advantage and rocketed to the other end of the arena.

"I can match your speed!" Conlan announced as he once again appeared behind Bravero to deliver another Mach Punch, this one getting a direct hit in on the blaziken, sending him tumbling backwards once again.

"Hngh…" Bravero grunted as he brought himself back up, and once again performed a Bulk Up.

"Rahh!" He charged once more, a final time, with his Poison Jab and Blaze Kick combo, a Blast Kick, so to speak. "This time it'll explode on you!"  
"No!" Conlan responded as he he brought a Fire Spin from his tail and shot it towards Bravero. "This time it'll explode on _you_!"

Bravero lunged into the Fire Spin directly at Conlan, who as quickly as he could narrowed it down to trap his opponent, and then, the explosion happened.

The mound of meteorites flew all over the place, forcing Ornia to put up a Light Screen to keep the audience from being hit by debris.

"What in Reshiram's name-?" Cochrane exclaimed.

"How in Nowhere…" Jaslynn looked on in awe.

"Are they both still standing?" Satinka's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Wait a minute…" Gertrude's eyes narrowed before she gasped in shock.

"Well…" She gave a small smile. "I'll be…"

Bravero, despite still standing, was completely spent, and incapable of movement. Conlan was struggling to stay up, but was quite clearly still conscious as he rose his fist into the air.

"YES!" Rudo cheered. "Wooo! Go Conlan! Now you can avenge me and then go to the finals and then win the tournament!"

"You think _he_ can win the tournament?" Ornia wondered. "It is not that I don't applaud his creative direction, but from the many scenarios I've been running through my head, I see very few in which Gertrude is not victorious, and next to none in which Conlan places first."

"Bravero is unable to battle." Alvar announced. "Conlan is the winner and advances to the semifinals! After the contestants are given time to rest, we will begin the next set of matches and here they are!"

Match 13: #16(Gertrude) VS #6(Conlan)

Match 14: #11(Razr) VS #4(Nezarix)

"Alright Conlan, listen up." Rudo lectured him as he got ready to head right back out onto the arena. "You're about to go up against Gertrude, and she knows Attract, so you need to be extra careful to not fall for it. Furthermore, you can't let yourself get hit by Hypnosis, because if she lands a Dream Eater on you, you won't be able to fight it off as well as Ornia, who's had training for that kind of thing. You're at a small advantage in that her other attacking moves are all fairy type and will only deal neutral damage to you, which means as long as you don't get hypnotized, you don't have to worry about super effective attacks. Finally, and this is the most important piece of information to remember, Gertrude's really full of herself, so if you humiliate her, it'll really mess with her focus!"

"Thank you, Rudo." Conlan laughed to himself as he thanked her. "I'll be sure to keep all your advice in mind."

"Fight as hard as you just did with me, and you'll come out on top for sure." Bravero nodded from the doorway. "Come on, Alvar's waiting on you. Get out there, and show that gardevoir why she's being forced to help the Fire Province in the first place."

"Match #13 is about to begin!" Alvar announced as Conlan took to the arena, opposite Gertrude.

"I'll be honest, human, I'm not too sure how to approach you in a fight." She announced.

"Gertrude the gardevoir versus Conlan the monferno!"

"That sounds like a problem for you to work out on your own." Conlan responded. "If you're confused, then I ought to use it to my advantage."  
"You sound like king Paulo." Gertrude laughed with a smile.

Now Conlan was the confused one. "Excuse me?"

"I'll explain it all after my service to Ignia ends and I can return to Fable."

"Pokemon ready…"

Both Gertrude and Conlan took a fighting stance. "Fight!"

"Are you going to run at me with your Mach Punch?" Gertrude mused.

Conlan simply smiled as he did nothing. He looked up and down at Gertrude, centering his focus in on all her weak points, focusing all his energy into future attacks, pumping himself up for the battle.

"Very well then, I'll make the first attack." Gertrude, failing to notice Conlan's Focus Energy, brought her hand down and a small moon appeared by her right shoulder before it shot out a large beam of moonlight.

"With that Moonblast, Gertrude has marked Conlan as another worthy opponent." Ornia said as she sat between Mandy and Rudo. "It looks like she intends to fight seriously with him as well."

"She better!" Rudo exclaimed. "But Conlan's not gonna lose this!"

As if to prove Rudo's point for her, Conlan easily rolled under the Moonblast Gertrude had prepared and gulped as he rushed up towards her.

"Hup!" He grunted as he slashed down with a Fury Swipes at his opponent.

"First her forearm!" He announced as he slashed at Gertrude's right forearm, causing the small moon floating beside her to disappear as she wailed out. "Next, the knee caps!" He slashed twice, once for each knee of Gertrude's knocking her down to them, once again to cause her to painfully groan. "Now the top of the head!" Conlan announced as he stuck her across the head, bringing her down to a crawling position. "And finally, the small of her back!" His final Fury Swipe slashed across her back, pushing her completely down to the ground.

"Wooo!" Rudo cheered from the bleachers.

"At least _I'm_ focused on the battle." Conlan couldn't help but taunt to her as she lay there before him.

"So...this is the true strength of a human?" Gertrude wondered to herself as she slowly began to get up. "Then perhaps I show off my own!"

Gertrude's body began to glow an incredibly bright white as she rammed herself into a blinded Conlan, knocking him back across the arena, giving her enough time to stand up.

"I am not the leader of Team Kirei for no reason, human!"

"Well, _I_ am not the leader of Team Moonbrand for no reason either," Conlan retorted "But the reason was because at the time, I was the only one who could get approved as leader, so I'm not sure how much merit that 'leader' boast holds."

"You-!" Gertrude had to stop herself from completely losing composure as Conlan rushed forward brandishing another Fury Swipes attack.

"You will not achieve the same result twice." Gertrude spoke as she danced around his attacks, turning elegantly before bringing her hand back down to shoot another Moonblast, this one hitting Conlan square in his back, sending him rocketing to the other side of the arena.

"Oof, that looked like a direct hit." Mandy cringed.

"Well, all of Conlan's Fury Swipes earlier were direct hits too." Rudo wasn't about to give up hope. "Gertrude's putting on a tough act, but I think she's closer to defeat than she'd like to admit."

"I don't want to use it with your little girlfriend present, but you're forcing my hand, Conlan!" Gertrude called out.

Caress and Comfort the comfey each looked at each other and cocked their heads in confusion.

Gertrude brought the small moon her earlier Moonblast had summoned and shifted it above her head so that a shimmer of light shined down upon her. She flicked her hair before looking back at Conlan, just to make sure it was working.

"Ah!" Conlan gasped.

"Sorry that I had to do this." Gertrude shook her head as she walked closer to him, and put her hand on top of his head. "But this is game over for you- Hey!"

Conlan was laughing to himself.

"What's so funny?" Gertrude asked.

"It's just that…" Conlan smiled. "I knew you'd be too proud of yourself to think I could fake your Attract working. Get ready, because this is going to hurt, and might ruin your dress."

He let out his Fury Swipe claws one more time.

"Impossible!" Gertrude gasped as she tried to fire the Moonblast she had prepared but instead was knocked back by a measly two swings of Conlan's claws.

"Oh...that wasn't as effective as I was hoping for." He mumbled.

"Well, then I suppose _this_ is the end of the line." Gertrude smiled as she began to glow another brilliant white.

"Yep." Conlan agreed as he brought his hands back behind his tail before shooting a Fire Spin forwards. "You're about to blind yourself!"

The Fire Spin quickly enveloped Gertrude just as her Dazzling Gleam was reaching its climax, and the scream heard from within the vortex was..

"Ugweeeeeeaaahggghh!"... decidedly not beautiful in any way.

The vortex stopped spinning to reveal Gertrude completely singed, from her shiny blue hair to her formerly white dress, she was barely holding on by a thread,

And then she fell down towards the magma hole.

"Shit." Conlan cursed under his breath as he quickly lunged forwards with an Acrobatics to get Gertrude away from the deadly trap he had accidentally sprang upon her.

"How in Reshiram's name is that even possible?" Alvar himself stood up from his seat, utterly bewildered. "Gertrude is unable to battle, which makes Conlan the winner and our first finalist?"

"Conlan!" Rudo rushed up to Conlan as he set Gertrude down near Comfort and Caress as they both began to heal her wounds. "You did it! One more fight left for you before we bring home all that poke for Moonbrand and Lightgrasp!"

"Right!" Conlan nodded.

"Match #14 will now begin." Alvar announced as Razr and Nezarix both took to the arena. "Razr the zoroark versus Nezarix the noivern! The winner of this match will go on to face Conlan in the finals for the reward of 250,000 poke! Pokemon ready...fight!"

Alright, Razr thought to himself as he quickly used a Nasty Plot, Nezarix is royal rank, and usually goes up into the air to fight, but might also use a substitute to buy himself time. I also know not to waste my time with any protective moves, but that doesn't matter much to me anyways. His attacks all seem ranged, which would make physical attacks a rather ineffective counter, but now that I know all this, I ought to be able to pull something off. I understand the Flying Province wants money to fund themselves after the secession, but this is peanuts to them, but the Dark Province could really use the funds for the mission Hadria wants to send us on.

"Oh my." Nezarix smiled from the other side of the arena as he slowly lifted himself off the ground. "Is it really that important to you that you would think up so much about me in so little time?"

"What the-?" Razr felt his entire plans crumble around him before looking up at the noivern. "How did you-?"

Nezarix laughed, the sound echoed by his metal jaw. "I've noticed your Nasty Plot habit, so I decided I'd Snatch it for myself!"

"Well, there goes me using Focus Energy in the finals against him." Conlan lamented.

"Well, if I can't think up plots...I'll just move onto the main event!" He strummed a Night Daze down on his guitar that reverberated through the air and slammed directly into Nezarix, causing the noivern to struggle to stay at a common altitude without veering too far in any direction.

"Argh…" Nezarix grunted quietly to himself. "That messed my vision up, I can't hit him reliably like this...I guess I'll-"

Nezarix disappeared from view, leaving behind a substitute noivern to take the attacks.

"Don't you hide from ME!" Razr unleashed a Hyper Voice as he strummed his guitar, though the substitute was still standing after being it by the sound waves.

Razr clicked his tongue. His opponent would make a good dark type.

As Razr turned to look for his hiding opponent, and was faced with a giant Air Slash that knocked him off balancing, causing him to flinch as he felt his way back up to his feet. When he did finally get up to his feet, he noticed the small line of flames heading his way, and quickly jumped away from them.

He strummed down on his guitar creating another Night Daze, though this one was far less effective, barely even scraping the noivern substitute.

He was answered by meteors falling from the sky.

Thankfully for Razr, they were falling near the mountain range to the north, rather than anywhere near the arena.

"Guess that first Night Daze saved my ass." He mumbled to himself.

"Where ARE You?" He strummed with another Hyper Voice, blowing away the substitute, and revealing the actual noivern, still flying in the air. "There you are!"

"Hnh." Nezarix grinned as he fired an Air Slash off at Razr, who managed to roll around the attack thanks to the noivern's misfire. He might as well have just flung his jaw for all the good it'd do.

Wait a minute…

Razr grinned.

He brought his guitar back, and then Flung it up towards the noivern.

"That's not how you use a guitar!" Nezarix exclaimed before the giant instrument knocked him out of the sky.

"Nezarix is unable to battle!" Alvar exclaimed. "The winner and our second finalist is Razr the zoroark!"

"I _really_ thought that it would be the other two semifinalists making it to the finals…" Fernando rubbed his wing behind his head. "But at least I know now to work on Team Horizon's reactions to unexpected events. It'll help buy time before I find a new pokemon to take charge of our mercenary bands that'll be left without a guild."

"Looks like it's you and me in the finals, kid." Razr greeted Conlan with a smile. "Sorry about the disappointment of you coming so far only to lose. Team Soulwind needs this money to fund a future mission, and getting our image out there wouldn't hurt either. I remember you from Groundquake you know. You're a lot better than you were then, but don't think we haven't also improved. You come at me with everything you've got, understand?"

Conlan nodded.

"You have to return the favor though!"

* * *

 **Fire Province: Blaze Desert(30F Mystery Dungeon): 30F(Geoid Mesa): Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: Crustle's Caravan, Part 8**

 **Moonbrand Present: Bennett, Gina, Magdalene, Verden**

Verden hid behind his substitute copy as he held his poison orb close to him in one hand and tossed a Spore attack at the mimikyu bandit with his other hand, narrowly missing its target.

Magdalene, for her part, was focused on the magcargo. She concentrated her mental energy into an Extrasensory attack aimed at the bandit, but instead the attack was intercepted by Bennett, who immediately doubled over and clenched his head in pain.

"They took a child from her mother! Kill them! Their bones are not fit to host their flesh!" The voice in his head was more overpowering than ever.

As she warily stared out at the crustle tracks leading into the desert, Gina brought herself up through the hole in the carriage roof, and let a Frost Breath loose, aiming for the Golurk, the chilling breeze causing the bandit to stumble backwards towards her campsite.

"Heehee!" The mimikyu laughed as he multiplied himself with a Double Team, creating a good five copies.

"KILL THEM!" Bennett repeated the voice in his head, finally unable to mentally fight it any more as he tossed a Shadow Ball like a grenade before detonating it managing to do a good number on the unsuspecting swalot before him.

"Someone get this insane kid!" He announced as he quickly shot a Toxic at Bennett in retaliation.

"I'll help boss!" The golurk offered as she fired her fist at Bennett in a Shadow Punch, though he seemed to catch the attack and toss it back to her.

"Then, I'll get that pesky glaceon back there!" The magcargo grinned as she summoned up rocks in an Ancient Power attack before tossing them towards the caravan carts, the farthest reaching rock managing to graze Gina's cheek.

"Hup!" Gina quickly let loose an Ice Shard aimed at the golurk bandit, once again knocking her back towards the campsite, this time also knocking her onto her bottom.

"Someone finish her off!" Gina announced as the Golurk responded by firing her arm towards Gina with another Shadow Punch, this one hitting Gina full force, square in the face, causing her to fall back into the cart.

"Verden, you get her, while I deal with this one!" Magdalene offered before turning to the magcargo bandit and glaring at her with a Disable, effectively shutting down the use of Ancient Power until further notice.

"Right!" Verden nodded as he tossed a Seed Bomb to the golurk, bandit, who took the full force of the attack head on, and rolled off the mesa, and into Hajari's crevice, where he quickly and carefully took out as astrafialpide knife, and slit her throat.

"1 neutralized, kek."

"If I can't use my rocks then…" The magcargo smirked as she let a Flame Burst loose towards Bennett, which Magdalene rushed to take instead, as her body began to glow a faint red owing to her Flash Fire ability.

"You'll what, exactly?" Magdalene asked.

"Time to Play Rough!" The mimikyu giggled as he lunged at Bennett, lightly bruising Bennett's body all over the place.

"At least _one_ of you lot is helping me!" The swalot snapped as he fired off an Acid Spray attack across the field, removing Verden's substitute, and completely drenching both Magdalene and Bennett.

"KILL!" Bennett shrieked as he shot a Shadow Ball at the swalot, who easily ate the attack without so much as a second thought.

"Let's go to sleep, little Vulpix girl!" the magcargo chimed sweetly with a Yawn, only to have it blocked by Verden, who had made his way over, while charging up a Focus Punch.

"Sorry." He smiled as he nodded to the Toxic Orb in his other hand. "But I've already picked my poison." He punched his Focus Punch straight through the magcargo's shell before bringing it back to his side, and turning to Magdalene. "Hey, I could use your help with that mimikyu. His Play Rough attack isn't something I want to hit me."

"Right." Magdalene nodded as she glared towards the mimikyu with another Disable attack.

"Heehee!" He laughed. "You thought that would _save_ you!"

Verden realized with horror what was going on as he was lifted off the ground by an invisible energy.

"This...this is the mind move Grutyme was talking about? Fucking _Psychic_?"

"Bingo!" The mimikyu excitedly responded as he slammed Verden to the ground, just in time for a reemerging Gina to notice.

"You'll pay for that!" Bennett growled as he launched another Shadow Ball, this time at the mimikyu.

"Hah." The mimikyu scoffed as its disguise fell over and he reverted to his 'Busted' forme. "Nice try, but we came prepared! Heeheehee!"  
"Prepared enough to _die_?!" Gina shouted from the caravan cart as she summoned a Blizzard that lost a considerable amount of power as it passed over the swalot and mimikyu.

"If you wanted death…" The swalot let loose another Acid Splash. "Then be my guest!"

Magdalene dodged out of the way, while Bennett supernaturally lunged past the attack and grabbed Verden to make sure he wasn't hit by it while he was down.

"Get back here!" The swalot shot a Toxic at Magdalene, who shuddered as the poison began to coat her fur.

"You did _not_ just do that." Magdalene responded sternly as she fired an Extrasensory towards the swalot in retaliation, knocking the bandit back with psychic force.

"And now you _truly_ die!" Gina announced again creating a Blizzard, freezing both the swalot and mimikyu solid in fury.

She slowly limped off the cart and turned to Magdalene. "Help me push these guys off the mesa. Hopefully they'll shatter and-...and…"

Gina had gone speechless at what she saw.

Bennett was hunched over the magcargo's body, devouring her corpse.

"SWEET HOLY MOTHER OF MEW!" Magdalene shrieked. "Bennett, What in Nowhere is wrong with you?!"  
"You step away from that gods damned body right the fuck now!" Gina agreed.

Bennett looked up at the two of them with crazed eyes.

"She had taken a mother from her child, and murdered countless innocents. She doesn't even deserve to rot."  
"B-Bennet?" Magdalene nervously asked, trying her best to regain any small amount of composure she could. "I-Is this the problem you wanted to talk about earlier?"  
"Henhhhh…" Bennett breathed heavily. "Bennett, your friend, is my avatar."

"He's more of a work associate…" Gina was quick to distance herself.

"Regardless." The not Bennett responded. "I'll leave you for now, but I have plans for Bennett. He will act as my vassal and occasionally…" He gestured to his surroundings. "My vessel as well. You would do well to not to disturb or disrupt him whenever he acts up. It's all according to my own will."

And with that, Bennett's eyes returned to normal, before they grew in extreme fear as he spat the magcargo flesh in his mouth out.

"Gah! Ahh! Ahh! What in Nowhere was I doing?!"  
"You fucking tell us, you possessed little shit!" Gina lashed out.

"W-woah, where is all that anger coming from?"

"Put Verden down right now!"  
"Oh…" Bennett looked over at the unconscious Verden who was still hunched over his shoulder.

He gently set the breloom and the ground and backed away from both Gina and Magdalene.

"Verden!" Gina limped over to him as quickly as she could, before collapsing on top of him, and giving a quick sigh of relief.

"Oh good. Still breathing."

"That _is_ good news." Inkeri announced as she walked up into the mesa from the previous floor of dungeon. "I believe this is for you, having passed through the desert successfully and all. Don't worry. I also know _all_ about the little scheme that was going on thanks to some interrogating I did with your ex-client. Here's your full pay. Mission complete."

Understandably, no one was happy enough to actually get excited over it.

"I just want to get my leg fixed and go home." Gina sighed.

"Yeah." Magdalene agreed. "Home sounds good."  
"I think I should see a shrink or something too." Bennett suggested.

"Unfortunately, as much as I agree that you all deserve a break after what an ordeal of a mission that must have been…" Inkeri frowned. "We need you to remain in Geotherm until further notice. A Type 2 heatran is making its way across the province, and under no circumstances can we allow it to harm the Geotherm Power Plant. I've already called in Team TMNT to help with evacuating the citizens, and a good portion of Moonbrand is there already. Once the rest are done at Wildeburn, we'll have everyone available present. Now then, off you go."  
After Inkeri shepherded a reluctant Gina, Bennett, and Magdalene along with Verden, into Geotherm, she turned around.

"Well, now I suppose we hold out for as long as we can." She said aloud, pretending that she didn't realize Hajari was listening in on her. "Still though, there's no way we can win this. If only we could help from somewhere...anywhere…"

* * *

 _ **AN: So, there was some combining of moves into one going on here, and I wanted to lay down this now: If when you fight, you want to combine two moves to make one, go ahead and try it. As far as I'm concerned they're just like any other move and rely on the d20 for effectiveness, though perhaps they are a bit less forgiving when it comes to low rolls. That's about it.**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: Razr, send in strats please**_

* * *

 _ **AN3: All Moonbrand, you WILL all be in Geotherm next chapter, so if there is anything such as shopping or rumor gathering or the such (perhaps even a support conversation with another member?) now is the time to send in those plans.**_

* * *

 _ **AN4: OC Application Sheet**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	9. Important: Boss Missions Are Deadly

**Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Wildeburn Summit, Part 9**

 **Moonbrand Present: Bravero, Conlan, Mandy, Rudo, Ornia**

"The final match for 250,000 poke will now begin!" Alvar announced as Conlan and Razr took to the arena. "Conlan the monferno versus Razr the zoroark! Pokemon ready…"

Both contestants silently got into a fighting position. They both wanted, no, _needed_ this money for their mercenary bands' future missions.

"Fight!" Alvar announced with a flap of his large white wings.

Razr started off as strong as he possibly could as he shredded a Night Daze on his guitar that was so powerful and fast-acting that Conlan didn't even have a second to comprehend what had happened before the attack hit him with full force, knocking him back to the edge of the arena.

"Ngh…" He grunted as he got up. "Well, this was probably too expensive of a Focus Energy, but nothing I can do now." He mumbled to himself as he looked over Razr's weak points, before rushing up for a Mach Punch, only to be fooled by an after image of Razr thanks to the earlier Night Daze while the zoroark smirked as he began his Nasty Plot.

After all, as long as he didn't get hit, he could keep tuning his guitar to be more and more powerful for the next attack, and the last thing he wanted was to trigger Conlan's Blaze ability.

Conlan searched for Razr again before rushing to the new position, claws out for a Fury Swipes attack, which the zoroark smiled as he continued to dodge.

"This is unfortunate for you, having made it all this way to not have even landed a single hit on me yet." He addressed his opponent as he continued his Nasty Plot.

"Don't remind me." Conlan grumbled. "But maybe I can trap you!" He brought his hands to his tail and shot out a Fire Spin, which Razr fanned away by spinning his guitar as he maxed up his special attack with one last Nasty Plot.

"Now the show can truly begin." He smiled as he finished tuning his guitar.

"Or maybe not!" Conlan aimed for the guitar's strings with a Mach Punch.

Even if the guitar itself is just an accessory, maybe I can enrage him into making a mistake so that I can gain some kind of footing in this fight!

However, as Conlan moved to attack, so did Razr, and the monferno's Mach Punch instead connected with one of the blades on the edge of the instrument.

He quickly reeled his hand back in pain as he noticed the blood.

"Looks like you accidentally hit the weapon part of my instrument. Guess it was a good call to move when I did." Razr explained. "And now, you lose!"

He shouted out a Hyper Voice that knocked directly into Conlan as he was once again blown back to the other side of the arena.

"Fuck…" He cursed as he was enveloped in a small red light. He looked at his hands. "Blaze active already? That's not good. Gotta by time, no matter how small."

He brought his hands back to his tail and shot a Fire Spin towards Razr once more.

This one, thanks to Blaze, rocketed forth and surrounded the zoroark within a vortex of swirling flames, the inferno grazing his fur periodically to deal damage.

Razr grunted as he strummed his guitar to use another Night Daze, dissipating the vortex of flames as the attack traveled outwards, only to reach no one.

"Behind you." Conlan announced as he fired a Mach Punch, grazing Razr's skin as he quickly tried to dodge the attack.

"Too close for your own good, buddy." Razr smirked before shouting with a Hyper Voice at point blank range, knocking Conlan all the way to the edge of the arena where he hit the ground.

 **Nowhere**

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Conlan stomped in the blood in frustration as Libitina slowly appeared before him.

"I know, right?" Libitina asked. "The least he could have done was ripped your body to bits. Giving humans new vessels is so...You know what, never mind that now."  
"You bring me back right now!" Conlan shouted. "I can't have that giant crowd of pokemon thinking I'm dead only for me to come back later!"

"Alright, alright, geez, so pushy today." Libitina pouted as she got to work. "So, a little birdie told me you'll be heading to Fable and Wamekufa soon, is this true? You coming to see me in person?"

"I remember that the Fire Province is going to help the Fairy Province in Fable, but I don't remember making any promises about Moonbrand specifically."

"Well, you'll be here soon anyway, I imagine." Libitina laughed to herself. "But just so you know, the leader of Wamekufa, the Ghost Province, is me, so I sincerely hope you understand just what you'll be getting yourselves into over here. As good as it feels to bring you back from the dead, I can't do it limitlessly, and I prefer to savor moments like these."

"Just get me back to Wildeburn." Conlan really, _really_ didn't care about anything other than not causing the pokemon there any worry about him at the moment.

"Tch." Libitina pouted again. "And here I thought you wouldn't kick the bucket again until the heatran attack."

"The what? No, nevermind, just work."

"Yes, yes, boss the Arbiter around, that surely won't bring you bad luck at all…" Libitina rolled her eyes as she finished up restoring Conlan's life force. "At least bring me some flowers or buy me dinner next time. Off you go!"

 **Fire Province: Town of Wildeburn**

"Conlan is-"  
"W-wait!" Conlan interrupted Alvar as he stood up.

"I'm still standing."

"That's fuckin' impossible…" Razr mumbled to himself. "Did I actually just-" He nodded to Conlan.

"Hey!" He pointed. "How is it you were able to use Slack Off?" He lied. "That a trait of being human or something?"

There's no way he wants his little deal to get out into the public. Might as well give him a hand.

"Y-yeah." Conlan agreed as he resumed his fighting stance. "That was it. As a human, I have hidden reserves of adrenaline for things like that. I can only do it very rarely however, and I don't understand it all too well myself."

There, that ought to stop others from prying into it. No need to tell any of them that Slack Off was replaced by Quick Guard when I evolved.

"But what I do understand is that now that I've got energy again, here comes another Mach Punch!"

His attack landed directly passed Razr's guitar and on the zoroark's chest.

"Thanks for the assist." Conlan whispered, before jumping back from the attack.

Razr nodded, and strummed down on his guitar to shoot another Night Daze and Conlan, who barely managed to limbo under the tendrils of dark energy, before firing off a Fire Spin attack, the vortex gaining no momentum and instead puterring out.

Razr once again strummed down on his guitar as a Night Daze shout out from the musical instrument, hitting Conlan in the chest and face, as well as blinding him even further as his eyelids began to droop lower than they were already, thanks to the previous moves.

"Least she could have done was also cure the stat problems when she brought me back." Conlan complained to himself, wondering how on earth he was even going to manage to land any sort of hit on the zoroark now. He decided he might as well go for a Fire Spin again, as it hide the widest range of the moves he could currently use.

He brought his hands to his tail and quickly summoned up and fired one more vortex, which moved about halfway between himself and Razr before it stopped, but continued to spin in place.

"Sorry kid," Razr sighed as he Flung his guitar through the Fire Spin. "You're creative for sure, but when you're frail, you're frail."

The guitar's neck hit Conlan along his gut with such force that for a small moment, Conlan could actually feel the life force Libitina had supplied him with slip away for a moment before returning back, and once again, he fell to the ground, not dead this time, at least, but still unable to continue.

"We have the winner of the Wildeburn Tournament, Razr the zoroark!" Alvar announced. "Team Soulwind will receive 250,000 poke!"

"Look at that Tashia…" Fernando chuckled. "A tournament thrown for the royals, and the mercenary for the one that isn't here is the one that wins."

"Yes, I suppose that is somewhat amusing." Tashia agreed with a smile. "You and yours may go on ahead, and Soulwind and my soldiers will join you until Lightgrasp. I'll stay behind with Moonbrand and Kirei. I'm expecting news from an advisor."

"Understood." Fernando nodded. "Don't worry, Tashia. The Flying Province...or rather Himmelskt, now that we are no longer affiliated with the UGM, has always been and will always be an ally of your nation. I'll send you your allied soldiers as soon as I am able."

 **Later...**

"Flaming guitar...should have seen that one coming…" Conlan was kicking himself over what was technically two losses in a row to the same opponent.

"Probably couldn't see with all that Night Daze." Bravero crossed his arms. "Would have done the same to the rest of us."

"Now what do we do?" Mandy wondered aloud. "Just head back to Lightgrasp right?"

"Not quite." Tashia muttered softly as she approached with Gertrude, Caress, Comfort, Inkeri and Micah. "I need to go back to Lightgrasp, and I'll need Inkeri for protection as we travel, but the rest of you are needed in Geotherm right now."

"Geotherm?" Rudo cocked her head. "The city with the power plant? Something going on over there? Also, Inkeri, who's the mewtwo and why is he wearing the Moonbrand scarf?"

"Quite a few things in fact." Inkeri crossed her arms. "The rest of Moonbrand is already there and can fill you in on the details."

"My name is Micah." Micah responded to the question of his identity. "I've joined Moonbrand as a healer and am also proficient with hand-to-hand combat, without the use of moves. I have come to an understanding that being part of Moonbrand can help me achieve certain goals, while helping others. I am here to teleport you all to Geotherm to save on travel time. According to four very battered teammates of yours, you probably don't want to waste your time heading through the Blaze Desert."

"Well, that sounds like a lot of ground to cover." Conlan sighed. "Alright, let's head to Geotherm."

* * *

 **Fire Province: City of Geotherm: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Battle of Geotherm(BOSS MISSION), Part 1**

 **Moonbrand Present: Aaron, Bennett, Bravero, Charlie, Conlan, Gina, Hex, Magdalene, Mandy, Micah, Ornia, Rudo, Semora, Terune, Verden**

Geotherm's walls and buildings are all made of molten rock, likely brought up from the deepest parts of the underground cells of the giant Geotherm Power Plant which the city surrounds, and where most of the residents end up working to make a living wage. Large smoke stacks and factories line the northeast of the city, while the smaller residential huts and homes take up the opposite corner of the area, in the southwest. In both the northwest and southeast are various market districts where shops and taverns can be found for travelers from the north or south, looking to only stay in the city for the night, and for good reason. Geotherm was the site of Reshiram's descent to the mortal world, according to all texts and eyewitness accounts, including the words of Reshiram himself, and many pokemon can still feel as though there is some divine presence in the town, silently watching and judging them. Many pokemon complain that sometimes the noise from the smokestacks sounds as though an otherworldly being is trying to communicate to them as well, and as such, repeat customers at the inns and taverns of Geotherm are exceptionally rare. The Geotherm Power Plant itself is massive in scale, as big as any of the other districts of the city on the outside, and even larger indoors, as the workers descend deeper and deeper into the ground to get closer to the world's magma so that their fire moves become more effective in their work of producing energy. The town respects all types and treats all visitors fairly, regardless of affiliation. The city is led by dutchess Tatiana, a rapidash who also oversees the work of the Geotherm Power Plant along with ruling the city. She is, by all accounts, a fair and just ruler that is respected by the people. During the initial rebellion of the outer cities, she had sided with Visha and the other outer cities in not condoning the new queen, but after learning of the queen's identity and realizing that she was the daughter of two Geotherm workers, Tatiana almost immediately revoked her earlier decision to rebel and instead pledged loyalty. Now, with both a type 2 legendary heatran and an army led by rightly angry rebels not far behind both closing in on the city, Tatiana has ordered an emergency meeting to take place in the early hours of the next morning, but for now, those she has requested help from are free to rest and recuperate, and prepare for the coming fights in any manner they see fit, which is exactly what Moonbrand is doing.

* * *

 _ **Bravero and Conlan: Support Rank D Reached**_

"So I was introducing myself to Semora right, and I'm not sure. She's really an assassin?" Bravero asked Conlan as he crossed his arms while the two went out shopping for the dinner the mercenary band would eat.

"Swear to Arceus, that's what she told me." Conlan replied.

"Yeah, well aside from being a little thorny, I dunno." Bravero shrugged. "Hot maybe, but an assassin? I'm still not buying it."

"Well, look, maybe when you fight you can't see her that well, but trust me, she fights like one. Stick close to me when we're all together later, and I'll show you what I mean, alright?"

"Sure thing man, sounds good."

"Great, now do you think we should get 40 lbs? I'm not sure if that's too little or too much meat for our party."

* * *

 _ **Bravero and Verden: Support Rank D Reached**_

"You feeling better?" Bravero asked Verden as he stopped by the breloom, who was recuperating in a medical wing of the hotel the mercenary band was staying in.

"I believe so, yeah. I should be good to go by the next fight. What brings you in here? What can I do for you?"

"Explain to me why you became a slaver." Bravero's eyes narrowed.

"It wasn't like there was much choice in it for me at the time, you know."

"I know, that's why I want to understand how you became one. What state did you have to be in to make a choice compromising moral value?"

"Well, my brother was-"

"And now I think I've heard enough for now."

Verden turned his head, confused. "Excuse me? I haven't even told the story yet."

"Well, if you became a slaver for your brother, then your story has far less value to me."

"What's the story behind this change of attitude then?" Verden wondered.

"I'll tell you another time, maybe." Bravero suggested. "Until then, let's both do our best for the team, alright?"

"That was...odd…" Verden mumbled to himself as Bravero left.

* * *

 _ **Hex and Rudo: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Rudo, a moment?" Hex asked as she tapped the riolu on the shoulder.

"Hey, Hex!" Rudo smiled as she turned around. "What do you want to know?"

"I've been told by many mercenaries on this team that you're one of the fiercest fighters on board, so I thought I would introduce myself professionally. I'm Hextra, and I train fighters."

Rudo's eyes lit up.

"YOU DO?! Will you train me?! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!"

Hex laughed nervously, backing up a bit, only half-expecting that kind of reaction. "I can, of course, but it won't be for free. I make a living off of this you know."

"Hrm…" Rudo thought to herself. "I guess I need to find a way to make some dough first then...Alright! It's settled! Hex, I'm gonna fundraise so I can hire you as a trainer, and you can teach me to be unstoppable!"

"I don't know about unstoppable." Hex laughed to herself as Rudo ran off. "But they were right, very fierce, very passionate."

* * *

 _ **Hex and Charlie: Support Rank D Reached**_

"So…" Hex grinned as she sat next to Charlie, who was busy sketching a map of the city, labelling the best evacuation routes as well as emergency exits should enemy soldiers break through the city walls. "I got my scar in a sparring match with a garchomp, what about you? Where'd you get your 'special stomach'?" She pointed to the large gash across Charlie's stomach, causing the charmeleon to instinctively curl up into a ball to hide.

"I got in on a mission with my old team." Charlie almost forced herself to say. "It's a constant reminder that death can come for any of us at any moment to me."

"Woah, there, easy. I didn't mean to unearth some sort of dark past, swearsies. You don't have to share if you don't want to."

"No, I suppose I have to tell someone eventually." Charlie rationalized. "But maybe not while I need to be concentrating. I'll tell you the full story later, alright? That is, assuming we're both still alive later."

"Debbie downer much?" Hex mumbled under her breath as she stood up. "Sounds good!" She grinned. "We'll share stories over drinks, yeah?"

"Yeah." Charlie smiled back.

* * *

 _ **Terune and Aaron: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Aaron-" Terune approached the aggron nervously. "There's been talk and you heard about what happened in Emberguard from Hex, didn't you? I-"

"There he is!" Aaron grinned as he noogied Terune's head playfully. "Kid, I heard all about your experience at the luncheon in Emberguard from Hex. You and that magby royal lady, eh? You gonna be a lord soon? You want to hold the wedding over in Cinders or should we invite her and her side of the family to Lightgrasp?"

"N-no, her name is Masti and it wasn't like that! She just wanted me to come back as her own retainer and-"

"Ohohoho, so she planned to literally take you? You're a lucky kid, Terune. The two of you even asked Hex about those side rooooooms ahahahaha!" Aaron's voice got higher as laugher began to overtake him. "Oh, that would have been the most awkward first time ever! Ahahaha...oh...Terune you're an interesting kid, you know that?"

"Y-yeah…" Terune muttered back. "Can we please stop this now? I need to get back to evacuating civilians…"

"So the whole place can be cleaned of people and you and your new girlfriend can come here on your honeymoon, got it." Aaron snickered as he rustled Terune's head again. "Keep up the good work kid, and I mean on all fronts!"

"I will." Terune responded affirmatively, before turning back to his work on evacuation.

"I wonder what that means…" He mumbled to himself.

* * *

 _ **Terune and Verden: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Verden...are you alright?" Terune asked as he wandered into the medical room where Verden was resting.

"I'm perfectly fine, Terune, thank you." Verden responded. "Although, I suppose there is one thing you can do for me. I still have no clue how you ended up in the hideout that me and my brother ran when we met. What's the story there?"  
"Not much story." Terune shook his head. "I was just sort of wandering around aimlessly and then zubat chased me in, and I had to activate my hybrant form, and lost consciousness, next thing I knew, I met you and Conlan and the others and that was that."

"Well that's/not exactly what I meant." Verden laughed. "You're from Momiji right, the Grass Province? How did you make it all the way from there to deep into Ignia on your lonesome?"

Terune fell silent.

"Terune?" Verden asked.

"S-sorry." Terune muttered quietly. "I can't answer that. Sorry."

He slowly crept out the door.

"These visitors and their cryptic exits." Verden groaned to himself.

* * *

 _ **Ornia and Bennett: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Alright, ghost. I've heard about what happened on your mission." Ornia explained as she sat Bennett down across a table from her. "And since I am the only one here in tune with the great good and holiness that is Tapu Lele, I will do you the honor of identifying your demon and exorcising it. Now, when did you first notice it?"

"Um, sorry...who are you?" Bennett asked, confused. "I remember Inkeri signed up a mewtwo and a haxorus but I don't remember her saying anything about-"

"I am a Serenity Soldier gifted by Queen Deirdre of Fable herself, you knave!" Ornia shouted as she floated up from her own seat, before quickly catching herself.

"Ahem. Excuse that, please. I am not terribly used to being so surrounded by heathens, you see."

"I see that you probably need more help than I do, lady." Bennett observed.

"Nonsense. I am perfectly sane. Only one mind rests in me after all. Now, when did you first notice this?" Ornia asked again.

"This...is going to be a long process isn't it?" Bennett dreadingly grumbled to himself. "I still don't even know her name."

* * *

 _ **Ornia and Semora: Support Rank D Reached**_

"You there." Ornia addressed Semora, who was browsing antiques in a market district. "You are with Moonbrand too, correct? Do you believe in Tapu Bulu by any chance?"

"I believe that this conversation is likely going to be a waste of your time." Semora replied coolly, not even turning to look at Ornia. "Why do you ask?"

"I simply noticed you had an eye for art, unlike most of the members, all too focused on fighting and getting stronger, which, while useful, is not as beautiful as the pursuit of aesthetic-"

"You're boring me with this." Semora sighed. "I'll go check the other market."

In a flash, Semora was gone, and Ornia couldn't find out the direction she'd gone in.

"Y-you do not just ignore a teammate like that!" She huffed, before noticing the vase semora was looking at. "Even if you have a good eye for art and antiques…"

* * *

 _ **Aaron and Bennett: Support Rank D Reached**_

Aaron and Bennett stared at each other in silence for a moment, before Aaron finally spoke up.

"Did you hear about the prince from the grass province that kept coming back to Visha's luncheons again and again?" He asked. "He must have been really t _horny_ …"

"Good, good," Bennett nodded. "But I've got one closer to home. Towards the end of our Blaze Desert mission, Gina got really angry. Like seriously pissed and violent. If you ask me, I think she needs to learn to _chill_ out, maybe be a bit _Ice_ r."

"What the hell man, two for one, that's not fair!"

"All's fair in love, puns, and war, Aaron." Bennett snickered. "And I am the master of puns."

"I guess I was just asking for _pun_ ishment when I challenged you. I couldn't even _pun_ cture your poker face."  
"You're learning." Bennett smiled with a nod.

"I learned from the master!" Aaron laughed.

* * *

 _ **Aaron and Semora: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Oh my Arceus why do I have to do it?" Aaron grumbled to himself as he nervously walked up to Semora. "Semora, Conlan wants to know if there's any way you might possibly be able to help with the cooking tonight?"  
"Sure. I'll be sure to head back soon." Semora shrugged before continuing to browse at the antiques. "Better to avoid that Serenity Soldier anyways."

"Alright, well, that was all. I guess I'll be going now?" Aaron, however, found it hard to move.

"Bye?" Semora waved him away, confused as to why he hadn't left yet.

"R-right." Aaron nodded before finally turning around and leaving. "Wait a minute…" He soon realized. "That wasn't nerve-wracking at all! That was normal! The heck was Conlan on about? Trained killer my ass."

* * *

 _ **Gina and Charlie: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Charlie, that's a great drawing!" Gina smiled as she looked over Charlie's shoulder at the sketch of the city. "I wish I could sketch that well. A girl doesn't get much time to practice her art skills in the Ice Province after all. Even less time when you're a 'cursed mercenary'."

"I wouldn't mind teaching you." Charlie shrugged. "It's a useful skill to have after all. That said, you don't become a good artist overnight. It takes a lot of practice. You will get frustrated often."

"I think I can manage through a little frustration." Gina nodded. "I would love to learn! We'll schedule a first lesson for me after we return to Lightgrasp, alright?"

"Alright." Charlie nodded back.

* * *

 _ **Gina and Conlan: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Hey, Conlan, I was wondering something…" Gina said as she walked up to Conlan while he walked into the hotel hauling 60 lbs. of tauros meat.

"What is it?" Conlan asked with a grunt.

"I know this may not be the most...opportune time, but it's still important…"

"Spit it out, Gina."

"I need a raise."

Conlan stopped pulling on the tauros meat.

"You understand that we're in the middle of a war right now, don't you? I can't promise you any sort of raise right now. Furthermore, didn't you just get a bunch of money from your mission? Wasn't that the reason your group took it in the first place?"

"Most of it went to repairing my leg." Gina motioned to her healed leg. "I'll tell you, a nurse's Heal Pulse can work wonders, but it's perhaps a tad too expensive."

"Tell you what, Gina." Conlan sighed. "You prove that you deserve it, and you get your raise, but that means no pretending to be a damsel to get out of battles. Don't think I haven't done background checks."

"Tch." Gina frowned, deciding to drop the sweetness. "Fine, fine. I'll earn my raise the old fashion way, but I _do_ need the raise, and it better be a good one, sending me up against a fucking type 2 legendary made of fucking magma and steel…"

"Imagine how much you could twist my arm for then, though!" Conlan encouraged her. "Be smart about it and the raise that I still don't believe you need is yours."

* * *

 _ **Mandy and Magdelene: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Your form is good, but I think the problem might be in your reflexes." Magdalene observed as she watched Mandy training on a practice dummy. "Working in the mines helped give you the muscles you need, but the movements you take are too rigid and imbalanced."

"Then I'll just have to try again." Mandy resolved herself as she continued to attack the dummy.

"Remember to keep your head up. Looking down at your feet is the first mistake of all dead mercenaries."

"Don't let the enemy out of my sight either!" Mandy announced as she struck a good blow on one of the dummie's marked pressure points.

"Good." Magdalene nodded. "Now that I'm starting to get a good sense of your fighting style, I'm sure I can think up some good strategies to pitch to Conlan later."

"You think up the strategies?" Mandy asked, taking a break from the training for a bit.

"Well, not _all_ the strategies, but I do think them up a lot. I don't have any formal training to be a tactician though, so obviously they're proofread. Usually by Charlie, sometimes by Semora, sometimes by Conlan, and sometimes even I don't like what I wrote down and scrap it."

"That sounds tough…" Mandy sighed.

'Not as tough as an Ignia soldier!" Magdalene responded. "Let's get back to training on the dummy!"

* * *

 _ **Micah and Bennett: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Yep." Micah nodded as he brought a hand away from Bennett.

"You're cursed alright."

"Wonderful. Amazing deduction, Mr. Holmes."

"Who?"

"Nevermind." Bennett waved his hand. "Anything else you could figure out."

"Yes, actually. Whatever it is, it's not a pokemon."

"Great." Bennett sighed. "So what is it?"

"I'll need more time to figure out for sure…" Micah pondered the question as he gave his answer. "But if I had to guess, it's some kind of evil deity clinging to life?"

"I heard about what Aaron said. You think it's Giratina?"  
"No." Micah's face darkened. "It's worse when it's Giratina. That's enough for now. Get some rest."

And with that, Micah left Bennett alone.

"This is why I don't like going to the doctor's office." Bennett grumbled.

* * *

 _ **Micah and Hex: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Any words on where those rumored Obsidian Legion soldiers might be?" Micah asked Hex as he sat down at her table.

"I've heard a few rumors that they're actually going to circle around Flamewater and try to invade the Electric Province instead, disguised as Ignia soldiers."  
"That would not be an ideal situation at all, would it?" Micah sighed as he shook his head.

"That's why we'll just have to unite ourselves faster so we can find the bastard."

"Um...bastards?" Micah corrected. "Since there's more than one of them you know."

"Yeah, that's what I meant." Hex shrugged.

Micah squinted.

* * *

 _ **Conlan and Charlie: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Charlie, I want to fill our last space on the team with another mercenary. Is there anyone out there who might join?"  
"None that I know of." Charlie shrugged. "But stop trying to fill up the team roster so quickly. What if we miss out on being able to recruit someone as powerful as a type 2 legendary because some sunkern girl wanted to join after we helped her find her mother in a marketplace?"

"Obviously, they should have come to us first then." Conlan shrugged. "I don't understand what's so bad about first-come first-served to you.'

"The principle of the core concept!" Charlie exclaimed. "We've been lucky so far in that we haven't accidentally hired some psychotic criminal. Look at nearly _any_ other mercenary band, and they have rigorous screening in place and in most cases, don't even accept new members! It's about team cohesion!"

"Well, I've been pretty good with my own background checks, I thought." Conlan crossed his arms.

"Let's at least wait until the new year to start your game of Kingcardine roulette, alright?" Charlie crossed her own arms.

"Fine."

* * *

 _ **Rudo and Bravero: Support Rank D Reached**_

"But why not?!" Rudo asked with a gasp as Bravero refused her request to spar with him.

"Well, firstly, you're half my size." Bravero reasoned. "Probably nowhere in my weight group either."

"Yeah, but I can still pack a punch and take a hit and-"

"Which actually brings me to my next point, you're probably, I can't believe I'm saying this, a more adept fighter than I am. You've been training for this kind of thing for how long? Your whole life?"

"Yeah, pretty much whenever I had time." Rudo laughed.

"If anything, you need to learn when to slow things down." Bravero decided. "Come talk to me again after you've managed to clock in over a full eight hours of sleep at night."

"Aw, no fair!"

* * *

 _ **Rudo and Bennett: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Bennett?" Rudo asked as she knocked on the door to Bennett's room before letting herself in without waiting for an answer anyway. "I heard about what happened. I want you to know that no matter what, we're all friends here alright?"

"Yeah, sure thing." Bennett smiled from his bed.

Rudo's eyes shifted to the headphones around Bennett's neck. "Hey Bennett, aren't those headphones? Conlan told me about those. Apparently in his world, they're all over the place, but here you can only get them from Silverstorm in the Electric Province. How did you get your pair/'

"Oh, I…" Bennett rocked his head back and forth. "I guess I just sort of found them."

"Well, I know you're lying." Rudo pointed to her aura sensors with a sigh. "But as long as you're feeling better right now, I'm not going to pry into this any further if you don't want me to."

"Alright." Bennett nodded. "Thanks for checking in on me, Rudo."

"No problem. Thanks for not-"

"It really means a _cot_!" Bennett motioned to the bed he was resting on.

Rudo slammed the door shut with an angry frown.

* * *

 _ **Semora and Hex: Support Rank D Reached**_

"You." Semora pointed at Hex. "Sparring Partners?"

"Sparring Partners." Hex nodded back with a grin.

* * *

 _ **Charlie and Magdalene: Support Rank C Reached**_

"Hey Magdalene, feel like working together in the upcoming battle?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, well sure, I'd love to!" Magdalene replied. "What brought this on? You normally don't really ask anyone for anything."

"I just, y'know, I got the feeling that I ought to open up to my teammates more, especially the ones I've known longer." Charlie scratched behind her head. "Besides, for a pokemon of your age, you're incredibly bright and very mature, so I feel that we would work well together."

"Well, thank you very much!" Magdalene smiled. "I look forward to working with you!"

* * *

 _ **Hex and Aaron: Support Rank C Reached**_

"Go!" Both Hex and Aaron announced as they began to scarf down their meals as quickly as they could while also not at all making any mess whatsoever.

Aaron and Hex both grinned at their plates as they stuffed forkful after forkful of beef into their mouths, each completely certain that they would be victorious over their opponent.

"Done!" They both announced at the same time to a confused table of other Moonbrand members.

"Up up up!" Hex pointed. "Crumb n your jaw!"

"Woah, what about that one on your tusk?" Aaron pointed back.

"Get a side room." Terune grumbled as he tried to focus on his own dinner.

* * *

 _ **Conlan and Magdalene: Support Rank C Reached**_

"These are all good strategies." Conlan noted as he handed the papers back to Magdalene. "All except this one here. Why would we put a clearly ranged attacker like you up with me in the frontlines? I'm a melee fighter…"

"Well, the point was to provide a cover to close the gap between other ranged attackers, allowing you the opportunity to-"

"No, see, but then who would give you the protection you needed from any enemy melee fighters? It makes too many positive assumptions that I'll have taken care of the enemies first, and I think we both know, evolution or not, I'm far from the best melee fighter this team has."

"I suppose so, but I think you're still selling the strategy short!" Magdalene wasn't backing down. "Next time we get a chance, I'll show you that it works, and then you'll have to approve it for future use!"

"Alright then, but when I have to call for help because it doesn't work, you'll have to scrap it and it'll be the last I hear about it."

"You're on!"

* * *

 _ **Bravero and Semora: Support Rank B Reached**_

"Semora." Bravero caught Semora just before the sceptile was entering her room for the night. "Good, you're still up. The Azure Syndicate. I'm ready to learn about them."

"Very well, I'll tell you what I know tomorrow morning."

"It can't be tonight, over drinks?"

"We're about to fight tomorrow and you want to go drinking?" Semora rolled her eyes. "You better just give up the getting back of money if you're really in debt to the Azure Syndicate. Suggesting to drink before an important fight, you'll be dead before you know it."

"No, I wouldn't do something so reckless as to leave you heartbroken again." Bravero grinned as Semora tensed up.

"I thought I told you already to drop-"

"I'll cut you a deal, Semora, you tell me what you know about The Azure Syndicate, tonight, and I'll watch your back in the fight tomorrow."

"...Fine, but this is a one time, deal, understand?"

"Loud and clear." Bravero grinned as Semora shut the door to her room.

"She just needs, oh, one more push." Bravero chuckled to himself as he left for his own room for the night.

* * *

 _ **Ornia and Mandy: Support Rank B Reached(from a double rank up)**_

"This is stupid." Mandy mumbled as she and Ornia both stared at the large painting of a whimsicott prince from Fable. "What is staring at this painting going to accomplish."

"You said you wanted your Attract to be as good as Gertrude's didn't you?" Ornia responded. "Well, for the unfortunate sinners against Tapu Lele, this is the best way to go about understanding what makes aesthetic beauty. Prolonged exposure to it! Look at the whimsicott. Look at his dimensions, the colors in the pallette used to give him that life-like pop to him, but above all, realize how truly majestic and magnificent he looks. Crown on his head, scepter in his hand, clothed in the garb of the glorious Tapu Lele…"

"Oh, no, you just like this picture because the prince in it followed your religious faith! That doesn't make it objectively aesthetically pleasing!"

"It most certainly does too!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Alright then, _don't_ accept a Fable native's help in appearing attractive and try your own hand at it instead. You'll be back when you realize the need for my guidance!"

"I'll be back to gloat because I did it without your help!"

"Well I'd actually be impressed by that so there!"

"Thank you then!"

Both pokemon huffed as they turned away from each other and pulled up their bed blankets.

* * *

 _ **Magdalene and Bennett: Support Rank S Reached(from a double rank up)**_

"So...Bennett, you still awake?" Magdalene asked as she wandered into his room.

"Yeah." Bennett responded as Magdalene took a seat by his bed.

"What happened in the Blaze Desert, that was what you were trying to talk to me about earlier, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Bennett responded again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. If I had, I certainly wouldn't have simply brushed it off the way I did. Whatever is going on must be causing you so much grief. When did this begin?"

"I think it began when I woke up on top of Conlan's mailbox." Bennett mulled it over. "Ever since then I've heard it. Oh, I should also mention that, kinda like Conlan, I'm not from this world. I mean, I'm not from his, since apparently pokemon don't exist there, but I'm a Banette in my home world too."

Magdalene gasped, and looked around, as if to make sure no one else was listening in.

"Can I tell you a secret?' She asked. "I think I'm from a different world too."

"Don't make fun of me, I even decided against making puns near you anymore, so can you at least be serious?"

"I am serious!" Magdalene hopped onto the bed and moved her team scarf out of the way to reveal her space globe. "I got this back in that world. It's nothing like this one. Far less advanced."

"Oh...I see…"

"Puns might be able to hide pain Bennett, but they don't cure it." Magdalene gave a soft smile. "We're all going to help you get to the bottom of whatever is going on here, especially if you're serious about not pestering me with puns anymore. We stick together as fellow Moonbrand members alright? Until then, don't try to force anything on yourself. I learned the hard way a few months back. Now, get some sleep. We have to be up early tomorrow."

"Right." Bennett nodded with a smile as he watched Magdalene leave.

He let out a calm sigh of soothing relief before falling asleep himself.

* * *

 _ **Verden and Gina: Support Rank S Reached**_

"Excuse me…" Gina whispered as she opened the door to the medical wing and shuffled past other empty beds to her own bed near Verden's.

"You were probably enjoying the heck out of that walk around the city." Verden grinned. "Wish I could have gone too. You were practically crying when I woke up in here earlier today."

"Of course I was, my little reckless dumbass." Gina smiled. "You almost up and died on me while protecting the rest of us. Don't do that! It's like, the rule right below remaining faithful, sheesh!"

"I can't help it, it's my fighting style to take those status attacks." Verden laughed. "Besides, if I didn't keep them focused on me, they'd have continued going after you, and obviously if there's anyone I want to live with me, it's you."

"That poison must have lodged itself in your brain." Gina laughed as she rolled her bed closer to Verden's and leaned over to kiss his head. "You were actually good with flirts when I first met you. Don't think your work is done halfway through."

"Halfway through?" Verden asked as Gina planted another kiss on his forehead this time.

"Yes." She leaned over his face with a sly grin as she quickly brought her front legs up to either side of Verden's shoulders before lowering her head again. "Halfway through." She connected her lips with Verden's who immediately reciprocated against the soft and chilly refreshing lips of his partner.

"You know what you have to do for making me worry about you like that?" Gina asked after she had pulled out of the kiss, their mouths still connected by a string of saliva from tongue to tongue.

Gina hopped completely off of her bed and onto Verden's, before turning around and lifting up the sheets.

Verden instinctively moved to cover his crotch, but was stopped by Gina's back paw.

"No no no...I'll fiddle with that for you." She said as she stretched her rear closer to Verden's face.

"Gina...your um-.. Your"

"Oh, Kyurem's ballsac, Verden," Gina laughed. "Stop being such a pussy and start exploring mine already!"

She put her paw on the head of Verden's erect member. "If you finish from head before you even _begin_ to stick your fingers in there, I am going to be so pissed."

"E-easy, go easy on me! I've never been this lucky before!"

"No. You most certainly haven't." Gina lowered her head.

* * *

 _ **Arc Proper**_

 **Tatiana's Meeting Chamber**

 **Moonbrand Present: Aaron, Bennett, Bravero, Charlie, Conlan, Gina. Hex, Magdalene, Mandy, Micah, Ornia, Rudo, Semora, Terune, Verden**

 **Kirei Present: Caress, Comfort, Gertrude**

 **TMNT Present: Macha, Nid, Talo, Tyran**

 **Others Present: Inkeri, Satinka, Salandit Soldiers, Sigurna the togekiss, commander of the Himmelskt squad sent to Geotherm, Sigurna's Sky Knights, Tatiana the rapidash, duchess of Geotherm**

"I will now call this meeting to order!" Tatiana announced as she put a hoof on the table. "Allies, we have evacuated the city and the workers to a camp we believe to be safe. However, as it is out in the wilderness, it presents its own problems. As such, Team TMNT, you will be responsible for the upkeep and safety of the refugee camp!"

"Yes, duchess Tatiana!" Talo saluted with a wing. "You can count on us to keep that camp safe. We didn't rank up to S for nothing after all!"

"Satinka." Tatiana turned to the salazzle, who unlike her laid back self in Wildeburn was now silently standing at attention. "You and your salandit soldiers are going to be our main force in the upcoming invasion, so we'll hide you in the city until the time comes. Sigurna, you and your sky knights will have one of the tougher jobs. You'll be responsible for making sure our airspace stays safe, and you'll report to us the enemy's position, while also fighting with ranged attacks whenever you can."

"Yes, duchess Tatiana!" Both Satinka and Sigurna responded without question.

"That leaves the rest of you, Inkeri, Kirei, Moonbrand."

"What do you want us to do, duchess Tatiana?" Inkeri asked.

"Inkeri, you divide Moonbrand and Kirei into two teams of nine. Alpha Squad and Theta Squad. Alpha Squad will be on the offensive, attempting to move the heatran away from the city. Theta Squad will be on the defensive, protecting the city walls at all costs. Once you have the squads in place, you will shift periodically in between both of them."

"I'll command the defensive for Theta Squad." Gertrude volunteered to Inkeri. "Kirei can cloak the city in Misty Terrain, and if it comes to it, we can momentarily immobilize the heatran through use of our status moves."

"Very well, Kirei, you can be on Theta Squad. That still leaves six openings for Moonbrand though.

"Well screw working with those guys, I'm going Alpha Squad all the way!" Rudo announced. "Come on, Conlan, you too!"

"I will also volunteer for Alpha Squad." Ornia suggested. "I am at my best when supporting allies on the offensive. You will be able to witness the true excellence of Tapu Lele."

"Alright, that's three on Alpha Squad and three on Theta Squad." Inkeri took note.

"Alright, the twelve of you better decide on this soon! Hereweald the heatran will be here any minute, and the Emberguard soldiers not long after that!"

 **Outside of Geotherm**

"I can't believe how pathetic this place has become since I offed B." A Lucario shook his head to himself. "Perhaps when they fail to defeat the heatran, I will challenge it myself. I shall rebirth myself as Jinn with a glorious fight like that one, and get ever stronger."

* * *

 _ **AN: So many supports….so many supports...But that's a good thing! It makes me happy. Also, this is very important so pay attention: Time is going to move REALLY FAST between missions. This book is called The Age of Entei because it is THE AGE OF ENTEI, not a teeny little bit of the age at the beginning, but most of, if not the whole damn thing, (Yeah, starting to see the benefits of support now, aren't ya?).**_

 _ **Furthermore, I'm sure some of you caught on: if you don't send in supports, sometimes I'll just random it for you (sometimes). But that means that you don't get a say in who your oc interacts with or how they do it so let's try to avoid that situation in the future, aight? Aight. (Like, I like Bennett, but no way is he**_ **that** _**popular among Moonbrand members)**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: TEAM ATTACK GIVEAWAY!(or TAG, it's TAG now)**_

 _ **TAG!: Bennett and Magdalene, you guys are at S rank, so you're pretty close! Now, since you aren't together, you only get one Team Attack rn. Want another? Rank up to Y (or get together, your call, nbd).**_

 _ **Your Team Attack Is…. Shadow-Sensory: Bennett can envelop both himself and Magdalene in shadow, while she uses a boosted Extrasensory attack that cannot be avoided by the target and will guarantee a flinch. Keep in mind, this is a once per mission gig.**_

 _ **TAG!: Verden and Gina (Another one, yay!)**_

 _ **New Team Attack: Spore Breath: Gina carries Verden's Spore attack in her Frost Breath, which results in both a critical hit on contact with it's target and has a 100% chance to put its target to sleep.**_

* * *

 _ **AN3: By the way, if the Verden and Gina support is any indicator, I can, and likely will make full use of this M rating, so be warned. It'll get more mature.**_

* * *

 _ **AN4: Now for the important part: WHO GOES WHERE?! We have six slots open for each squad, moonbrand peeps! First to act, first to get their squad of choice!**_

 _ **Alpha Squad!(ATTACK!):**_

 _ **1: Rudo**_

 _ **2: Conlan**_

 _ **3: Ornia**_

 _ **4: Bennett**_

 _ **5: Magdalene**_

 _ **6: Semora**_

 _ **7: Charlie**_

 _ **8:**_

 _ **9:**_

 _ **Theta Squad!(DEFEND!):**_

 _ **1: Gertrude**_

 _ **2: Caress**_

 _ **3: Comfort**_

 _ **4: Aaron**_

 _ **5: Verden**_

 _ **6: Gina**_

 _ **7: Hex**_

 _ **8: Terune**_

 _ **9: Bravero**_

 _ **And remember...BOSS MISSIONS ARE DEADLY.**_

* * *

 _ **AN5: OC SHEET!**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be natural or TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be natural or TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^ !**_


	10. The Comfey Twins Are Cute

_**AN: I said Boss Battles were deadly. R.I.P. all those who fall this chapter. I did try to keep everyone safe, but the dice can be cruel and unforgiving.**_

* * *

 **Fire Province: City of Geotherm Outskirts: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Battle of Geotherm(BOSS MISSION), Part 2**

 **Alpha Squad Side: Conlan, Rudo, Ornia, Semora, Bennett, Magdalene, Charlie, Mandy, Micah**

"Here he comes!" Sigurna announced to the Alpha Squad as she flew overhead, heralding the slow moving arrival of the massive hulking body of magma and steel walking forwards towards Geotherm with his mouth wide agape.

"So that's Hereweald, the savage type 2 legendary." Semora stated as Alpha Squad got ready to execute their plan.

"You ready?" Magdalene turned to ask Charlie who nodded after a gulp.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Alright Alpha Squad!" Rudo shouted over the wind blowing through the mesa. "Let's show this thing what Moonbrand is made of! Now!"

Charlie immediately began digging under the ground of the mesa, making her way towards one of the Geotherm Power Plant's underground cells. Meanwhile, Bennett put his hand out towards Hereweald and fired off a shadow ball, staggering the beast back, mostly due to being startled rather than any physical pain. "Drop it like it's hot." Bennett announced before blowing on his hands like they were a smoking gun.

"Gueeeeeeeeaaaaahhhh!" Hereweald screeched as he began to pick up his pace. The Metal Sound of his roar making nearly all of Alpha Squad's ears bleed, with the notable exception of Charlie, who was busy digging underground, and Ornia, whose Clear Body reflected the soundwaves back off of her.

Magdalene focused her mental energy and shot an Extrasensory towards the monstrous pokemon, causing it to cringe as it continued to move forwards. Micah quickly teleported to the heatran and threw as hard a punch as he could, the force of his fist swinging him too far to the right, hobbling in the direction of Hereweald's path.

Semora sensed an opportune time to use Double Team and hastily completed the move, creating a good three clones of herself before quickly ducking behind Conlan as she went to hide.

Conlan, for his part, rocketed forwards with a Mach Punch, slamming his fist down on Hereweald's head, before landing next to Micah. "It looks like we're going to be in the thick of things, eh? Feel free to Teleport back if things go south."

"I'll be sure to take you and any others with me if that happens." Micah nodded.

"I'll help those guys up there." Mandy decided as she started performing a Swords Dance.

"You aren't thinking of going up there yourself, are you?" Ornia asked as she set up a Light Screen to coat the entire squad.

"Nope." Mandy smiled. "Once I've maxed out my power, I'll pass the baton on to Micah!"

"In the meantime, I'll help out up there!" Rudo's own fist began to glow with the light of Copycat before she herself rocketed forwards to hit the heatran,

As she made contact and landed near Conlan and Micah, she let out an exasperated sigh. "It still looks exactly like it did when we first saw it come over the dunes!"

"It's tether is still out there intact somewhere." Micah informed them. "But we aren't here to kill the heatran. Remember the plan. Once Charlie gives the signal, we need to bring this thing back towards the trap."

Meanwhile, Charlie was busy digging her way into a Power Plant cell. "Hup." She grunted as she landed in one of the tunnels, held together by refined astrafialpide beams. She grinned. "Perfect. That's not going to collapse on me at least. The only threat is that large fire type from above."

She quickly began digging upwards in the direction of the fighting.

"Gaowmph." Hereweald brought his giant maw down to chomp on Micah with a Crunch.

"Hngghhh!" Micah groaned as he was dropped, a giant gash of blood now vertically marking his entire torso, right over his right lung.

Rudo, after noticing Micah's state, quickly cloaked herself in a blue hue of light, looked at Conlan, and nodded.

"Hargh!" Ornia lifted a rock off the ground, and after molding it into a javelin-like shape, threw it straight towards Hereweald. "Incoming Fire!" She announced as loudly as she could to the three pokemon further ahead of her.

As all of them rolled out of the way, however, the heatran simply swallowed the attack, as though it was nothing more than a lunch for him.

"Don't worry about the mark that much." Micah announced as his Recover quickly began to heal is wound. "I can still fight."

Semora, from her hiding place, once again performed a Double Team, creating one extra clone of herself while Mandy continued with her Swords Dance, raising her strength even further.

Bennett fired off another Shadow Ball, while Magdalene, next to him did the same with an Extrasensory, both attacks rushing towards the heatran, and each one managing to to make the monster stumble forth rather than trudge.

Conlan felt a chill run down his spine, and decided that then would be the best moment to look up and down Hereweald for any weak points with a Focus Energy.

"Guaaaooorr!" Hereweald roared as the winds around the mesa picked up intense speed and then suddenly, without warning, stopped as a surge of scorchingly arid wind from Hereweald's Heat Wave washed over everyone present, knocking them all back multiple feet, and besides roughing up all those other than Magdalene who was immune thanks to Flash Fire, or Charlie, who was safely underground, also inflicted all the non-fire type pokemon with serious burns, making it difficult for any of them to move.

"Argh, ow, ow ow!" Rudo rubbed her muscles as she got up from the ground. "Conlan, are you alright?"

"I-I think so…" Conlan rubbed his head as he stood up, and noticed how singed and grotesque Rudo's body looked from that attack. "But we need to get you a healer right away! Where was that mewtwo wasn't he a-?" Conlan's voice stopped short as he noticed the Moonbrand scarf resting upon the pile of ash. The wind picked up again and as Conlan quickly caught the scarf, the ash was blown by the air current into the shape of two gigantic batlike wings. Conlan couldn't help but notice Libitina hadn't come to collect the ashes.

"How could anyone have Teleported away from that?" He quietly asked no one in particular before turning back to the Heatran. "Rudo, let's hit him with a Two For One!" He clenched his fist and wound it back, getting ready for a Mach Punch.

"I couldn't agree more." Rudo wound her own fist back, glowing with a Copycat.

As Conlan rocketed forwards, he noticed Rudo by his side, lunging towards Hereweald, who in return was clearly charging up some powerful fire move.

That was when he noticed the cloth sticking out of Rudo's bag.

He gulped, and instead of using the opening to directly hit the heatran, he changed his Mach Punch's target to Rudo, knocking her out of the way just barely as Hereweald let loose a Magma Storm that poured out into the wilderness, scattering the rest of Micah's ashes. Conlan then fell to the ground, knocked back by Rudo's blue Counter light..

"Read-" Charlie popped her head out of the ground, before stopping herself momentarily and noticing the terrible singed bodies of most of her teammates, as well as the absence of Micah. She had a job to do though, and powered through with the rest of her statement. "The trap is ready! Lead it over!"

"L-lead...the heatran." Rudo tried her damndest to head towards the trap that Charlie had dug. "This way...There's Ngh...Lots of food down this way!"

"Hrmmmm?" Hereweald cocked his head and allowed Rudo to lead him towards the trap, though she was going quite slowly, and it was clear he didn't have much patience when it came to finding food.

"Rudo!" Mandy called out. "Is Conlan still back there? Is Micah still back there?"

"Conlan's back there, but Micah-...He didn't…"

"We need to get that heatran trapped as quickly as possible." Magdalene advised Mandy, who nodded. She materialized a baton in her hand and passed it over in Rudo's direction. "Rudo, catch! Use it to move without a limp!"  
Rudo caught the baton and as it disappeared, she was able to pick up the pace, despite still being hellishly singed all over.

Magdalene moved closer to the hole and got ready to keep Hereweald trapped down there once he fell in.

Semora quickly brought as much of her color back as she could with a Synthesis, careful to continue staying completely hidden, but prepared to knock Hereweald into the trap from behind.

Ornia joined Magdalene near the trap, ready to assist with keeping the monster contained once it fell in.

Bennett, having noticed Micah's death, Conlan's injuries, and nearly everyone else's severely burnt and singed skin, including his own, which was oozing a thin red gas from gashes from the Heat Wave, he felt a knock inside the back of his head, before he lost his consciousness and Fenrir emerged.

"Hurry up and get in that hole to die already you cretinous creature!" Fenrir announced as he rushed towards the Heatran, disappearing and then reappearing with a Phantom Force, only for Hereweald to curiously turn his head towards him.

"Bennett, get back here!" Magdalene shouted. "You're taking Hereweald's attention away from Rudo!"

"Bennett is _gone_ right now, girl!" Fenrir snapped back. "And I can handle this thing myself!"

Hereweald bent down and sniffed Fenrir, scrunched his nose up, repulsed by the scent, but then chomped down with a Crunch anyways, swallowing the pokemon in front of him after a single chomp.

"Bennett!" Magdalene shrieked out as Hereweald slurped up some of the strange gaseous blood from Bennett's body.

Rudo fought the urge to turn around and lunge at the heatran in a fury and continued to lead it towards the hole, only to be caught alongside it as they both fell down into the trap.

Rudo's world turned off.

"Rudo!" Magdalene called. "Can you hear me?"

"I think she's unconscious…" Mandy noted, looking down the hole as well.

"How am I supposed to cover the trap up with Rock Slide now?" Semora grunted as she kept her health at the best she could with another Synthesis.

"Let me see if-" Magdalene rushed up to the edge of the whole and shot some Hypnosis rings down at the heatran, but instead tumbled her own into the trap.

"Where's Magdalene and Rudo?" Charlie asked as she rejoined the others.

"Down in there." Ornia mournfully informed Charlie as she motioned towards the hole.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Charlie rolled her eyes as she looked over to Magdalene.

"Magdalene, you need to use Hypnosis on that thing before you climb up!"

"E-easier said than done, you know!" Magdalene called back. "I'll keep its attention for as long as I can but-"

"We've got ranged attacks!" Ornia announced. "We can keep it from getting too close to you or Rudo!"

Meanwhile, Conlan, back where he was knocked down, found himself being brought up to his feet.

"You there!" The arcanine barked at him after tossing him into the hands of two seperate magmar, each far stronger than Conlan would have thought. "You're….Hmmm! Aha, you're part of that mercenary band that helped the pretender queen escape Flamewater during Mt. Immolate's eruption a few months prior! You'll make excellent leverage during the pretender queen's surrender!"

He looked over at the two magmar. "Place him in the rear. Aradia has enough guards as it is. She can surely spare some for one of Visha's war prisoners."

Back where the rest of Alpha Squad was dealing with an ambipom wrench being thrown into their plan, Mandy had succumbed to her burns and Ornia quickly caught her.

"She'll be fine with enough rest, but she can't fight anymore." Ornia analyzed. "May Tapu Lele keep her safe."

Semora rolled her eyes as she jumped into the trap grabbed a surprised Magdalene, and surprisingly light Rudo, and used her Acrobatics to leap up and out of the pit.

"Maybe now would be the best time to cover that pit!" She announced.

"Tapu Lele grant me your strength" Ornia muttered a quick prayer before raising nearby rocks with Ancient Power and throwing as many as she could down the hole to fill it.

"Let me help." Semora stated as she placed the two pokemon she was holding down, and summoned her own pile of debris with a Rock Slide, filling the rest of the hole that Ornia alone couldn't handle.

"There's an innuendo here somewhere" She shook her head "But I guess we won't have a ghost to point that out to us anymore."

"Delivery!" Sigurna announced as she flew overhead again, dropping two rawst berries to Ornia and Semora respectively. "Also, important notice: Visha's troops are approaching geotherm en masse! Rendezvous with Satinka and Inkeri inside Geotherm's walls! They have other work for you to do!"

* * *

 **Fire Province: City of Geotherm(Outside City Walls): Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Battle of Geotherm(BOSS MISSION), Part 3**

 **Theta Squad: Gertrude, Comfort, Caress, Aaron, Terune, Hex, Bravero, Verden, Gina**

 **POW: Conlan**

"En garde!" Visha announced from the front of his massive army closing in on Geotherm, rows upon rows of magmar, growlithe, magmortar, torracat, and incineroar were charging up behind his floating visage. "If you are Ignian enough to face me, I shall accept your challenges, but those unworthy _will_ stand ASIDE!" He immediately whipped up a large Whirlwind with his wings and lunged it towards where Theta Squad and a few salandit army soldiers were standing.

Gertrude, Bravero, and Verden all slammed their backs into the wall, while Terune was blown off into the horizon along with the salandit soldiers stationed outside the walls.

"Terune!" Aaron shouted as he quite futilely reached out for the tree stump pokemon.

"Well, this is quite telling." Duman announced inside Terune's head. "You ought to tag me in, otherwise you're going to die, and then we'll both be in a pickle."

"Er- right." Terune nodded, allowing Duman to take control. As he drew out two ethereal scimitars, Duman landed atop Sigurna.

"Feel like fighting with us in the air force, do you?" The togekiss asked. "You got any range?"

"Plenty." Duman responded.

Back on the ground, Aaron noticed an incineroar soldier heading towards him, and immediately let a Thunder loose from his mouth, striking his attacker down with one blow.

Gertrude, after freeing herself from the wall, found herself being pounced upon by a frothing torracat, who cut straight across and through her chest with its Shadow Claw. "Heh. Let's see you without that dress, Fable lady." The soldier sneered as two more torracat and an incineroar began to surround her, grappling and binding her as the first soldier ripped her dress off her body.

The agonizing screech of pain that came from Gertrude nearly stuck the soldiers dead with fear, before she lost consciousness and their mortified frowns returned to malicious grins.

In the air, a fletchinder soldier brought down a tropius sky knight.

"Good." An important looking chandelure praised the fletchinder before he turned his attention to Duman and Sigurna. "You there, atop the enemy general. I can sense it in you. A different life than the one you currently have. I am Chakra, Visha's General of the Air Force. You will be a worthy story to tell my grandchildren once you are defeated."

Chakra shot a Flame Burst at Duman, engulfing the phantump in flames, and singing the edges of Sigurna's wings as well, causing the togekiss to fly a tad lower.

"Hup!" Sigurna flapped her wings as she moved backwards, firing an Air Slash towards her opponent. Her wings carried such power that the flames atop Chakra's appendages were all snuffed out from the air, and he immediately knew retreat to be a far better option than fighting to the death. "Air force, pull out at earliest convenience!" He ordered. "That togekiss is _not_ to be messed around with!"

"Sorry that I was a bit too powerful, kid-" Sigurna looked up before gasping. "Kid? Kid?!"

She only then noticed Duman falling.

"Ah! Someone down there catch him!" She called as loudly as she could.

"You four" Hex turned to Comfort, Caress, Aaron, and Gina. "The tether for that heatran is being kept on Aradia the braixen's person, and while I don't doubt in the trap Alpha Squad set, the only way to get rid of that heatran for good is to deal with Aradia."

"She's all the way in the back of the army though, could we really push through that?" Aaron asked, understandably doubtful of the situation.

"We can we can!" Comfort cheered.

"Just make the army slow slow slow!" Caress sang equally cheerfully.

As the debate was going on, two growlithe and two magmortar began closing in on the group, to which Hex immediately responded with a Bulldoze, shifting the ground under the soldiers' feet and causing them all to topple over one another, losing consciousness.

As a trio of magmortar approached Bravero, Verden, and the group surrounding Gertrude, Bravero took action, rushing forwards to Sky Uppercut the one closest to the main gate, but instead being knocked back into the wall by a different magmortar's Focus Punch..

"Damn...Glad I Bulked Up before this shit." Bravero said to himself as he made sure his jaw wasn't dislocated.

"What's an ice type doing trying to defend geotherm against an army of fire types?" The arcanine asked Gina as his body began to glow red. "Don't take this personally kid, but General Ardent fights _fiercely_."

And with that, he slammed into Gina with a Flare Blitz, knocking her back across the sand while he took a knee from the damage he did to himself with the same attack.

Aradia, from the back of the entourage, pulled out her stick and began weaving it through the air, creating strange symbols, and mumbling something Conlan couldn't recognize.

"What was that?" He asked a guard in front of him. "What did she do just now."

"I don't have to explain milady's Lucky Chant to you." The magmortar spat.

"Ooooh…" Conlan cringed to himself. If she put a Lucky Chant on the whole army…

Conlan's thought was interrupted by a shriek from Aradia, and he looked over to see Terune's body in front of her.

Just Terune's body.

The spitting magmar from just a moment ago was now vomiting in pure disgust.

Conlan then noticed Terune's head in Aradia's hands. The braixen's terror, after a closer examination, seemed to turn to anger.

"Soldiers." She stated calmly as she gently placed the head of Terune next to his body.

Conlan looked behind him and noticed Libitina sneaking up to collect the remains. She brought one of her 'arms' up to her mouth as though she was instructing him to remain quiet.

So she _was_ still doing that. Conlan continued to wonder why she didn't collect Micah's then.

"Lady Aradia?" A magmar asked.

"Push forwards. I'm going to pay my friend Hifroli and her 'retainers' a visit."

"Milady, are you sure that's a good idea?" The spitting magmar asked. "Lord Visha already had reservations about you coming along, and to place you in even more danger would be-"

"I'm in no danger." Aradia smiled softly. "Please have more faith in me." She looked at Conlan. "You.. I'm sorry for what is about to happen to your friends. This is the price they pay for lying to me, however. I do not take kindly to be cheated or taken advantage of. Please don't hold it against me, okay?"

"Don't lay a finger on any of my friends." Conlan responded.

"Oh…" Aradia cradled her hand as she brushed her fingers over her ring. "I doubt _I'll_ have to."

Conlan wasn't quite sure what was going on, but if that ring was going to be the death of any more of his friends, he knew he needed to get it out of that braixen's possession. Still though, that would be hard to do with all these guards surrounding him...unless…

"I hope to Arceus this works." He crossed his fingers before putting them inconspicuously behind his tail, and created a thin line of Fire Spin. He just needed to trap one, and he could make a break for Aradia's ring.

"Heehee." Aradia giggled. "That's actually a really cute trick you're doing with that Fire Spin, mercenary. But I have a trick of my own. Wanna see it?"

Aradia took out her wand of a stick again and pointed it at Conlan. "Up you go~!"

Conlan soon found himself being lifted up into the air by a Psychic.

"I'll keep you safe up there until you're well behaved enough to come down~!" she sang. "Or maybe I'll catapult you into Hifroli!"

Conlan didn't know who Hifroli was, but he _did_ know that he probably wouldn't like being catapulted into her.

Back near the main gate, Verden shot a Spore attack mixed in with a Seed Bomb at the approaching magmortar, sending them all back like they were nothing but dominoes.

"Ngh…" Gina helped herself to her feet, and stared down Arden, the general of the army.

"I could use a healer!" She barked before attempting to unleash a Blizzard,, but instead falling to a sitting position due to injuries to her legs, and shooting a concentrated attack at the ground, which came back to hit her right where her front leg and previously been broken, effectively paralyzing herself for the duration.

Comfort floated over to Gina and the flowers on his lei grew large to envelop her, refreshing her energy and while she had still stunned herself, her body appeared completely healthy otherwise.

"Floral Healing to the rescue!" Comfort chimed before backing up a bit. "Now Fight Fight Fight!"

Meanwhile, Caress, noticing Gertrude's situation, made her way over to where her leder was being surrounded.

"Don't tie my leader up like that! I'll tie you up first!" Caress huffed as she extended long vines in an effort to Wrap the soldiers. However, she only managed to ensnare the incineroar.

"Sorry, Fable flower." The incineroar smirked. "Your efforts won't save your friend's fine ass from my boys."

"Comfort!" Caress announced as she extended another vine from her flowers. "Teamsies Please!"

"Yeah Yeah! Go Caress, best sister!" Comfort cheered using Helping Hand and Caress's Wrap managed to ensnare the rest of the pokemon, and judging by the state of Gertrude, saving her from them just in the nick of time.

"Hraahhh!" Hex began to charge forwards, towards Aradia, and she began to shake the ground with a Bulldoze to attack the magmar blocking her path, causing both guards to faint.

"Hex!" Conlan called out as he noticed her running towards Aradia.

"The ring, I know!" She nodded at him.

Meanwhile, back at the main gate, Bravero saw opportunity.

"I'll take this one." He said as he jumped in between the bound soldiers and hoisted Gertrude over his shoulder.. "I've always wanted to do something like this." He grinned as he jumped away and from the ground erupted a Blast Burn from magma so fierce, none of the soldiers were left with any remains after being hit by the attack.

"Thank you for saving our leader!" Both Comfort and Caress smiled at Bravero. "You're our new favorite!"

"Get those healers out of here!" Ardent barked at a squad of three growlithe, and one incineroar, who then all rushed towards Comfort and Caress with a Flare Blitz. While Caress managed to dodge both a growlithe and the incineroar's attacks, Comfort was hit directly by both of the growlithe gunning after him, and was knocked over the city walls.

"Comfort, nooo!" Caress called before shaking her head and turning to her and her brother's attackers. "You would _not_ be welcome in our village in Fable!" She huffed.

"Again, a little help!" Gina called from where she was facing Ardent down.

"Gina!" Verden noticed and rushed towards her.

"Verden?!" Gina's ears perked up as she noticed him running towards her.

"You can't save her from her fate!" Ardent chuckled. "Once he has his target, Ardent never rests!"

"Gina, I've got an idea! Use Frost Breath!"  
"Hah!" Ardent laughed. "Like that will work!"

Gina nodded and quickly breathed a Frost Breath attack as Verden launched a Spore attack was well.

"Hah!" Ardent laughed as the Spore intersected with the Frost Breath. "You couldn't even flank *yawn*...me...Now I can kill….you…*yawwwn* you both…"

Ardent slumped to the ground, successfully put to sleep by the Spore carried by Gina's Frost Breath.

"H-huh?" Gertrude began to regain consciousness. "Eh-" She realized that her dress had indeed been torn off her body. "Eh-?!" She noticed that she was being carried by Bravero.

"Eeeewwww!" She began to struggle. "Let me go, let me go! Put me _down_!"

"Hey, I helped your comfey teammates _save_ you, alright? Calm down."

"Oh yeah, tell the womon who just had what amounts to a layer of skin ripped off to calm down! Why didn't _I_ think of that? You desert dwelling Ignian imbecile!"

"Really?" Visha sighed. "You still haven't dealt with them yet? Alright, I guess it's my go now."

Visha once again flapped his wings, and once again, a gigantic gust of wind began to pick up, but it then began to swirl. The Hurricane attack was easily braced by Gertrude and Caress, who hid behind a stalwart Aaron. Meanwhile, Bravero was rocketed into the air, and Verden and Gina were slammed into the walls of the city once again.

"Hifroli…" Aradia smiled as she approached Hex "If that even _is_ your real name. I doubt it. No one from Longguo royalty would name their kid something so...ice-type. You've been spying on me, haven't you?"  
"I clearly had good reason to." Hex responded.

"Hex!" Conlan called out again.

"The ring, I know!" Hex, losing a bit of patience. "I'm working on getting it now!"

"No, don't! I'm in terrible shape. If Aradia drops me-..."

"That's right." Aradia smiled. "If you try to take this ring...I drop the monferno, who I assume is your leader? That blaziken up there doesn't seem to be it, at least. Besides, even if you do managed to get to me…"

The ground thumped.

"I wonder if you'll have truly destroyed this tether before dinnertime~!"

"I'll deal with these guys, comfey girl." Aaron said as he stepped up to the growlithe and incineroar and began to shake the ground with a Bulldoze of his own, managing to fell each of the growlithe, though the incineroar was able to remain conscious.

"Guards!" Aradia announced as two more magmar flanked Hex. "No Mercy."

Both magmar nodded and shot mirror Fire Blasts and Hex.

While both Fire Blasts hit Hex completely, her tough skin kept her from getting burnt, and the damage she did sustain appeared to be minimal. Still though, Aradia didn't seem worried.

Hex simply shook her head before rushing towards Aradia brandishing a Dragon Claw,

"Hrahhh!" Hex slashed at Aradia's ring-bearing hand with her attack, only to be met with nothing but fluff.

"Ooooh! I knew that Substitute would come in handy!" Aradia smiled as she walked up from the very rear of the army. "Even after I told you that I would be apart from the main troops, Hifroli! Still though, you _did_ value winning over your friend in the air there, so…"

Aradia gently let Conlan onto the ground, though the mental energy force upon him from the Psychic had him lose consciousness anyways.

"Save my favorite!" Caress sang as she let out a large Floral Healing flower to reach up and grab Bravero.

"Thanks for the assist!" Bravero gave a single wave to Caress. "Now…I think someone needs to learn that just wanting to be a king isn't enough to make him one!"

Bravero lunged down at Visha, his fist glowing with the toxins of a Poison Jab, landing a hit directly on the volcarona's chest, and quite clearly infecting the wound with further poison.

"That was a _mistake_." Visha warned maliciously.

Meanwhile, the two magmar flanking Hex began to attack again. The first of the two shot a Hyper Beam out of his mouth, hitting Hex square in the side of her shoulder.

The other magmar, however, did not use an attack. It simply waited where it was.

"This is why it was a mistake!" Visha shouted as he flapped up another Hurricane, this time at a point blank range for Bravero. However, Bravero simply gripped the wings.

"Some mistake." Bravero smirked. "You should surrender now. Tashia doesn't want us to fight each other like this. If you wanted change, why didn't you attempt to apply for an advisor position? All you've done is plunged this country into financial ruin."

"You don't understand at all, do you?" Visha responded before coughing from his Poison Jab wound. "I won't be good enough for her if I'm not also the ruler of my own territory!"

"Good enough for who?" Bravero rose an eyebrow. "There's another province ruler you like?"

"I don't need to tell you my life's story!" Visha snapped as he broke free from Bravero's grip.

"How has no one called for _fucking_ reinforcements?" Gertrude gave an exasperated sigh as she headed towards the main gate.

"This is Theta Squad requesting reinforcements! I repeat, Theta Squad requesting reinforcements!"

"You heard them, guys!" Satinka laughed as she and a substantial harem of her salandit followers poured out the gate.

"For Satinka! For Ignia!" One of the salandits shouted as they began to swarm around the remaining fodder of Visha's ground forces.

"It's time to put this arcanine out of my misery." Gina growled as she walked up to the sleeping Ardent. "An Ice Shard to the heart ought to do it." She spat, the Ice Shard tearing through Ardent's heart and out his backside like a bullet.

"Now that leaves only _one_ delusional warrior left to deal with."

"That's right!" Aaron agreed as he rammed his way towards Visha with an Iron Head, knocking the volcarona duke back, before realizing how terribly overheated and burnt his head had just become.

"Haha, my Flame Body protects me from such terrible physical combat." Visha chuckled. "Enjoy slowly burning to death."

"I don't think death is in his future." Verden said as he also turned his attention towards Visha. "Yours however...well, I wonder if you'll wake up tomorrow morning." He then shot a Spore attack right towards the duke of Emberguard, putting Visha to sleep.

"He's asleep?" Bravero confirmed. "He's asleep! Quick, someone get the others! We can tie him up and force his surrender! We might even be able to marry him off to some other province so he won't be in our hair anymore!"

The ground between Aradia and Hex was now thumping quite frequently. The soil was stirring. Whatever was coming was only a small moment away from arriving. That was when a Salandit made his way towards the two.

"Hey! Moonbrand!" He announced. "We've captured Visha, and Satinka's about to start her interrogation!"

"C-captured Visha?" Aradia could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"Yep!" The salandit nodded. "Was put right to sleep by a Spore attack and when he awoke bound in astrafialpide rope, he surrendered fairly quickly. Wonder what'll happen once Satinka's done with him. We can't quite have such a violently harsh critic to the queen ruling Emberguard."

"Wait, we can't just accept a surrender like nothing happened when _this_ one" Hex pointed to Aradia "Is using a savage type 2 legendary to get her way!"

"I've done no such thing!" Aradia defended herself. "I've been trying to train Hereweald as a gift for Visha! He'll have no choice but to accept me as a bride if he knows I'm persuasive enough to tame a demigod!"

"Visha weddin' an Ignia noble? I don' think so." The salandit shook his head. "It sounded like he was trying to impress a different province ruler or something."

"Heh…." Aradia nervously laughed. "You're lying….You're just jealous…."

"Why would _he_ be jealous?" Hex asked, legitimately confused. "He's already in some sort of thing with Satinka….right? Is that how that works?"

"Well…." The salandit shifted. "The point is that the fighting doesn't need to continue, and we'd prefer the rest of you disengage and come with us quietly."

The ground thumping stopped.

Aradia thought.

"I've decided to come quietly, on a condition."

She held out the ring to Hex in the palm of her hand.

"That condition is if this haxorus womon here doesn't destroy or take this ring and agrees to let me keep it."

"No, fuck you." Hex swiped the ring out of Aradia's hand. "But you're still coming-"

Aradia had already vanished.

In her place, Hereweald was waiting patiently.

Hex slowly put on the ring.

"Hereweald?" She asked.

"Guooooooaaaahhhh!" Hereweald roared in her face. He then began to charge up an attack in his mouth.

He did not look pleased.

In a split second, Hex threw the ring into Hereweald's mouth and crouched as she used a Protect.

Hereweald gulped down the ring, but rather than his mouth remain open, agape like some monster, it closed.

Hereweald once again noticed Hex standing there.

He very clearly did not like her presence.

"Gyyyaaaaoooohhh!" He screeched a Metal Sound at her, before turning to wander slowly into the Blaze Desert.

"Come on, Moonbrand, we don't have all day!" The salandit tapped his foot impatiently.

"Fine." Hex sighed.

* * *

 **The Battle of Geotherm Conclusion**

 _After an extensive interrogation by Satinka, it was revealed that Visha was so adamant about him being in power for two main reasons, the first being what he had told Hex at his luncheon earlier that month, that he believed those trained to rule should rule rather than those chosen. The second, more personal reason was to impress the eldest princess and next queen apparent of Fable, Mizuko. Unfortunately, that day will never come for him. Visha has been stripped of all his lands, they've been handed over to his nephew Lisariph. Lisariph, despite some initial reservations, has pledged his loyalty to queen Tashia._

 _Aradia has not been seen or heard from since the battle. She seems to have disappeared off the map entirely, though she's left Emberside and its lands in the capable hands of her younger brother Asriel._

 _Hereweald reportedly walked all the way to Flamewater and inside Mt. Immolate, where he seems to reside peacefully to this day. Some Flamewater locals have heard rumors of a hooded pokemon often visiting the volcano and talking to its new resident, but none of these rumors have any substance behind their claims._

 _Masti's parents died from the shock of Visha's defeat, and she inherited the throne at a young age. She kept hoping the friend she made at Emberguard would come visit her, even once, but grew cold and reserved when she realized it would never happen._

 _Razr and the rest of Team Soulwind brought their winnings back to Noironia proudly and immediately began planning their next mission, their first as an S rank mercenary band._

 _Nezarix and Team Horizon stuck around in Lightgrasp in the aftermath of the war, making sure no riots started, or at least that the ones that did start were quelled quickly._

 _King Fernando was able to use his shrewd senses to rebalance the Flying Province, or rather the Himmelskt nation's economy, in what locals called the latest move of the Feathered Financer._

 _Gertrude, Comfort, and Caress, despite desiring to return to Fable, were told by Concordia to remain in Lightgrasp until Moonbrand themselves decided to travel there. Comfort and Caress didn't mind._

 _Grutyme never did find out what happened to her daughter. Verden, Gina, and Magdalene looked all over for Maodice, but couldn't find a trace of her. When they delivered the news to Grutyme, she decided to join her family underground, and the oasis soon dried up._

 _Hajari was executed for bringing the entire Electric Province Military to the middle of nowhere for no clear reason._

 _Tashia had a successful coronation ceremony at Wildeburn, which was renamed the capital of Ignia as on that same day, at Inkeri's suggestion, the Fire Province officially seceded from the UGM beyond a shadow of a doubt._

 _To accommodate for this change, Alvar became the new mayor of Lightgrasp, remodeling the obsolete UGM Hall into both his living space, and a hotel for travelers, though he did keep facilities for the creation of mercenary bands open._

 _Moonbrand spent a long time mourning the loss of Micah, Bennett, and Terune, and often stuck to local jobs around Lightgrasp to build up some savings of money. With no more UGM Hall in the town, Conlan and Rudo's house on the outskirts found itself becoming part of a small camp of huts, that the locals of the town had taken to calling Camp Moonbrand. To reward them for their exploits in the short span of less than a month, Inkeri officially raised Moonbrand's rank to B. Strangely enough, she seemed more excited about it than any Moonbrand member, even Rudo._

 _And the rest of the month went by, for better or worse without much issue, and before anyone knew it…_

 _The year was about to turn._

 _The Age of Entei was about to begin._

 _But before it did…  
All of The Known World would be celebrating the Year-Turning Festival._

 _It was a festival made popular as a couple's celebration. Plenty of pokemon would ask others to watch the Year-Turning Star Shower with them as way to either profess love, propose marriage, or, in the case of some pokemon, to simply be better friends with one another platonically._

 _With games, travelers, and romantic affairs, the festival was a welcome calm after the storm that had just plagued Ignia not nearly a month ago._

 **BOSS MISSION: COMPLETE**

* * *

 _ **AN: As the conclusion just said, the next chapter is a quiet, safe, fun chapter. It's the Year-Turning Festival! Here's what I'd like from any current Moonbrand members**_

 _ **(And also any OCs that want to be members of moonbrand but haven't been introduced yet, don't worry about the 16 member limit, pretend it doesn't exist):**_

 _ **Please submit up to 3 Moonbrand members you'd like a Support Rank Up with.**_

 _ **Also For Moonbrand Members: Feel free to request your OC to ask another to the Star Shower! Those lucky enough to go in pairs will get an extra Support Rank up, but going in a group will not!**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: In-between these arcs is the best time to submit OCs!**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	11. Some Very Clearly Needed R and R

**Ignia: Town of Lightgrasp: Camp Moonbrand: Age of Mew(waning): Year 656: The Year-Turning Festival**

 **Moonbrand Current Total Funds: 60,000P**

The streets of Lightgrasp and the nearby Camp Moonbrand were decorated with a varied assortment of colored banners and streamers while performers walked the streets and alleyways. It was the final day of the Age of Mew, Year 656. When they all woke up the next morning, the Age of Entei would begin, an era characterized by the constant changes that The Known World seemed to be undergoing as of late.

Lightgrasp itself, being a small town when compared to cities such as Emberguard and Flamewater, did not see as large an increase in tourism as the larger cities of Ignia did. However, those tourists that did show up to Lightgrasp showed up as raucously as a crowded tavern.

Alvar, Lightgrasp's new reshiram mayor found himself swamped with finding travelers spare places to stay. Meanwhile, Conlan, Rudo, and the rest of Moonbrand went about their day of celebration.

* * *

 _ **Gina and Rudo: Support Rank C Reached(from a double rank up)**_

"Happy Year-Turning Festival, Gina!" Rudo smiled as she walked up to the Glaceon, who was patiently waiting in line for some funnel cake.

"Hey Rudo, same to you!" Gina smiled back. "Would you like me to order a second funnel cake when I get to the front of the line for you?"

"Nah that's okay" Rudo shook her head. "I don't want to feel indebted to anyone."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous" Gina tried to reassure her "It's just a token of appreciation for all you've done to make the pokemon like myself with certain...undesirable qualities feel welcome."

"The answer is still 'no', sorry. Tonight's _super_ important for me, and I can't let a bloated feeling from funnel cake ruin it. Tell ya what though, if you want to show appreciation, how about agreeing to spare with me sometime?"

"Oh?" Gina rose an eyebrow. "I'm not sure we're the best sparring partners. I fail to see how much of a challenge I'll be for you."

"Oh it's not for me" Rudo shook her head again before pointing at Gina. "It's to test _you_! I wanna see how well you can actually perform when backed into a corner!"

"Well, when you put it like that, I suppose I _have_ to accept now, but it'll have to wait, because I plan to eat funnel cake, and there is no way I'm running around sparring after eating all that sugar and deep fried dough."

* * *

 _ **Gina and Ornia: Support Rank C Reached(from a double rank up)**_

"Ornia?" Gina asked as she finally got to the front of the funnel cake line. "What in the world are you doing selling funnel cakes?"

"I'll have you know that jobs of creation are noble professions in Fable." Ornia stated bluntly as she handed out funnel cakes to other pokemon at the front of the line. "I admit though, I'm far from the best baker out there. I have a habit of-"

Her sentence was cut off as she accidentally bumped into a numel worker, knocking off the platters he was carrying, each one smashing itself against the wall of the deep frier.

"A habit of breaking the dishes…." Ornia sighed.

"Well, while it's nice to see you show some modesty and humility for once, I'd like some funnel cake within the next few minutes please. Sort of starving in this desert heat."

"Oh, right, of course." Ornia turned to go grab a tray of funnel cake.

"Er- actually, can you have that numel go get it?" Gina asked quickly.

"Hey! I don't break the dishes _that_ often!" Ornia responded as she picked up the tray only to break it against the top of her head.

"I'll...I'll go get the numel…"

* * *

 _ **Verden and Gina: Support Rank X Reached(from double rank up)**_

" _There_ she is!" Verden exclaimed as he wrapped his short arms around Gina from behind while she was eating funnel cake and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey there!" She smiled back at him. "Want some?" She picked a strip of funnel cake up with her mouth and held it out to him.

"Don't mind if I do." Verden snickered before taking a small bite, and then another, going down the funnel cake until their lips met, prompting a small giggle from Gina as she softened her lips to continue kissing her lover despite there no longer being funnel cake between them.

"So…." Verden pulled away for a bit. "As you know, the Star Shower is tonight, and I decided that I'd go ahead and get us one of the greatest views Lightgrasp has to offer of the event. It's nice and far away from everyone else, so it'll be just us."

"Oh will it really?" Gina laughed as the two kissed again. "Then I'm looking forward to having an amazing time with you. Want to help me finish this pastry off?"

"You know I'd love to." Verden responded as they kissed yet again. "Unfortunately though, I have some business I need to take care of by myself first. It's part of a surprise I have planned for you tonight."

"Oh, no fair…" Gina laughed. "You can't even spare forty minutes?" Gina's paw began to trace up and down Verden's thigh.

"Well...I suppose I did see that there weren't many pokemon over by an alley a few blocks south of here…"

Verden tightened his grip on Gina and pushed his hands up to cup her breasts. "That's only if you're feeling naughty enough for it though."

After letting out a moan before quickly stopping herself so as not to attract attention, Gina grabbed another piece of funnel cake with her mouth, and gave her response as she held the piece towards Verden.

"Lead the way~."

* * *

 _ **Charlie and Hex: Support Rank C Reached**_

"Hex!" Charlie called Hex over to sit near her at a small noodle shop having been set up on the street. "Come here, I just had a few cups of sake, and I'm ready to tell you how I got this scar."

"For real?" Hex asked as she sat down near Charlie. "That's great! How'd it happen?"

"Well, Like I said when we were talking in Geotherm, I was on a mission with my old mercenary band. Our objective was to catch this outlaw, a crawdaunt by the name of Carl. He's a serial killer, and he has a disgusting habit of taking out the organs of his victims and laying them out neatly on the floor of his mystery dungeon in Crystallia, the former Water Province. Needless to say, the mission didn't go so well, and I barely made it away with my life. I've been avoiding narrow spaces, and especially avoiding water, ever since."

"Wow." Hex blinked. "I'm sorry to hear that. If it makes you feel any better, I have my own failures under my belt, I'd be happy to share them with you at a later time, preferably one when I'm buzzed and you aren't. Sound good?"

"Sounds great. I look forward to hearing about your past."

* * *

 _ **Ornia and Semora: Support Rank C Reached**_

"Of course I'd run into you here." Ornia noted as she approached Semora who was looking over various antiques being sold by a merchant traveling from the Grass Province. "The Ancient Momiji antiques are some of the most exquisite aren't they?"

"Yeah." Semora responded, not quite caring about the conversation as she pointed to an ornate knife scabbard. "Is that real or a replica?"

"It's somewhat both." Ornia answered before the merchant could. "Back during the Great Type War, the leader of Momiji and her descendents kept getting assassinated, eventually, the Empress of the time found the feudal lord responsible and had his entire estate burned to the ground, and none of what was restored from the wreckage had any of its gleaming golden color, so artists were hired to paint over the burnt objects and redo the patterns. That scabbard is clearly one of them though, since you can see where the paint has chipped away to reveal the original design."

Semora turned to Ornia and rose a brow.

"Do you….do you want it?"

"What? Oh, no, not in the slightest. I personally prefer modern Fable designs above all else, so I'm quite happy with what I already have. I just felt like sharing the history of the product you were looking at."

"Well, it was quite an extensive knowledge for something you say you care so little about. That's all I'm saying" Semora replied.

"As one of Tapu Lele's chosen I must concern myself with all lives, even those that have long ended." Ornia laughed. Semora wasn't quite sure, but she wondered if Ornia had just tried to make some kind of joke.

* * *

 _ **Ultima and Ornia: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Excuse me, miss carbink." A voice announced behind Ornia snapping her out of the trance she was in whilst looking at ancient Ignia antiques. "I'm somewhat turned around because of this festival. How would I reach the town outskirts and Camp Moonbrand?"

"Do you have a mission?" Ornia asked as she turned around, and looked up, and up, and finally saw the face of what appeared to be a mega gyarados. "One moment." She said as she fearlessly floated up to the pokemon's eye level.

"I am Ornia, Serenity Soldier and a gift to Moonbrand by queen Deirdre of Fable herself. If there is something you wish to ask of us, speak now as you have my undivided attention."

"I go by Ultima, and I intend to join Moonbrand." The gyarados, Ultima, replied. "I wish to explore the lands that Kyogre will one day grant me."

"You'd be better off forgetting about what your god will one day grant you, and focusing instead on improving the life that the glorious goddess Tapu Lele has deemed you worthy of. The only lands Kyogre can grant are the already useless ones covered in water."

"Do not speak ill of my faith, Serenity Soldier. I have no quarrel with yours."

"I suppose the matter of your incorrect religious customs can wait until a time after the festival, yes." Ornia reluctantly agreed. "Fine then, I'll bring you back to our campsite and hopefully Conlan and Alvar won't be long."

* * *

 _ **Semora and Conlan: Support Rank C Reached**_

"Stop telling everyone I'm a trained killer." Semora confronted Conlan.

"Well, I mean, I would, but when I'm constantly asked who our strongest members are, you inevitably keep coming up because of it. I'm not wandering around blabbing my mouth off."

"Well, I'd still appreciate it nonetheless if you could leave the trained killer part of my history out of conversations that don't involve me. I don't care much about what's being said, but I am TO'd that you'd say such things without an employee's explicit consent. Understand where I'm coming from?"

"I suppose I do, yes. From now on, no more talking about your work history without explicit consent from you, that being said, may I have explicit consent from you to do that? We both know I'm going to be asked this question in the future many times over."

"I feel like it defeats the purpose of this talk, but I _did_ just say that it was okay so long as I gave you permission, so fine. Fuck it."

"Don't worry Semora." Conlan did his best to reassure her. "If anything dangerous does come out of this, I'll take full responsibility."

"Somehow that doesn't inspire confidence." Semora mumbled as Conlan walked away.

* * *

 _ **Conlan and Rudo: Support Rank X Reached(from double rank up)**_

"So that's another Moonbrand member…" Conlan mumbled to himself as he entered his and Rudo's small house.

"Unh~..." He heard Rudo moan from where their beds were located.

"Conlan…."  
Conlan quickly rushed towards the room before gasping and stopping both his breath and motion as he noticed Rudo lying on his bed, playing with herself, still somewhat unaware of his presence.

"Unh~, oh yeah…" The speed of her fingers began to increase. "Yes….yes...yes yes yes _yesssss_ ~!"

As she caught her breath after the discharge, she finally noticed a petrified Conlan in the doorway of the bedroom.

Conlan, for his part, had no idea how to react, but Rudo's eyes lit up after quickly scanning his aura.

"It's...alright…" She panted as she reached her arms out. "Come here...please…"

Conlan gulped, hoped to whatever deity had brought him here that they wouldn't mind his acceptance of this offer, and strode towards Rudo confidently, leaning over her, he brushed his right hand behind her head and used his thumb to message one of her aura sensors.

"Ohhhh~" Rudo moaned before she lifted her own right arm to bring Conlan's face down into a passionate kiss.

"Please forgive me for this…" She asked as she pushed her tongue into his mouth. "I just couldn't hold it in any longer…"

"It's alright, Rudo." Conlan responded as he felt his member stiffen more than it already had.

He pulled away from the kiss and then widened the gap between Rudo's legs.

"No, don't look at that! I was just-"

"You're so wet down there." Conlan observed as some of the liquid from Rudo's earlier discharge began to coat his fingers.

"W-well~" Rudo moaned "That's….unh~...Ahhh!"

Conlan's fingers were once again coated in a torrent of juices, even as he pulled them away.

"R-Rudo…" Conlan could hardly contain himself. "C-can I-?"

"P-please!" Rudo exclaimed. "Hurry up and put it in already!"

"Ungh...Rudo...it's so tight...you're squeezing it really forcefully."

"B-but, it's so big, and hot...and I can't help it…"

"Does it hurt?" Conlan asked. "I've read that it usually hurts-"

"A, a little…" Rudo responded. "But it also feels kind of nice, especially since it's with you. Go ahead, keep going, please!"

Conlan nodded, and summoned all his might to give a thrust.

"Rudo, I love you."

"I love you too, Conlan."

* * *

 _ **Conlan and Magdalene: Support Rank B Reached**_

Feeling both tired and different, Conlan found the energy in him to leave his house again.

After walking a couple hundred feet, he noticed Magdalene training against a dummy.

"Dammit." Magdalene cursed as she finished some form of combination move she was working on, only to not be impressed with the damage it did.

"Keep at, Magdalene." Conlan cheered her on still in somewhat of a stupor.

"Conlan, I think maybe you should go home and get some sleep." Magdalene looked at the monferon. "You seem a little out of it."

"I definitely won't be getting any sleep at home if I go back there now." Conlan chuckled. "But what went wrong with your move? It looked fine to me. You were trying to combine Extrasensory and Fire Blast, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't want my Fire Blast to be a ball, I want it to have a chance and making the opponent flinch. I can combine the moves, but I can't seem to combine them in a certain way. It's aggravating."

"Well, I'll be glad to help you sometime later on in the week if you want."

"For real? That'd be great, thank you!"

* * *

 _ **Rudo and Verden: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Hey Verden…" a recently bathed Rudo tapped a recently bathed Verden on the shoulder as he walked through the streets of Lightgrasp. "I have some questions that I've been wondering about for a long time now. You're from Nike, the Fighting Province. I was just curious...what's it like up there?"

"It's a warzone up there." Verden answered "There are probably only a handful of decent pokemon still remaining as permanent residents of the cities, and those pokemon often have to keep their decency to themselves. When Gina and I went there to investigate Cahir, we met a primeape named Palmer who was very helpful, but he made it clear that he was the exception and not the rule. It's nothing like the nation it used to be. Now, the rest of The Known World laughs at it, but the threat Nike poses is an all too real one, which is why becoming mercenaries is such a popular trend in these recent years. You get far more training in as a mercenary than as an ordinary soldier. Though I suppose there _is_ Camp Dorado…"

"Camp Dorado is real?!" Rudo's eyes lit up.

"The rumor is real." Verden quickly remembered his oath to secrecy. "But I personally think that as long as that rumor remains, there's nothing to stop a well-meaning Nike native from making his own Camp Dorado, don't you think so too?"

"Yeah, I suppose I do! Thanks for the talk Verden!"

"Anytime."

* * *

 _ **Verden and Bravero: Support Rank B Reached(from double rank up)**_

"So, Bravero, care to share your story, or at least in the mood to hear my own story's full context?"

"A bit of both, I'd say." Bravero shrugged with a nod. "My brother is currently being held captive by The Azure Syndicate until I pay off a debt that my father incurred. Perhaps you've heard of them?"

"I have indeed." Verden nodded. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it was my brother's organization that helped traffic your brother to the Azure syndicate. We did jobs for them and groups like them in the past. We managed to do this through the help of a representative of an organization called The Abyssal Brokers, and he would always call me-

 _ **Wesley and Verden: Support Rank D Reached**_

 _ **Wesley and Bravero: Support Rank D Reached**_

"There's my favorite mushroom!" A weavile said, sending shivers down Verden's spine as he came up behind him and handed the breloom a pouch of poke.

"Don't keep that on your waist out in the open, man! You know this!"

"Speak of the fuckin' devil." Verden laughed. "Bravero, this is Wesley."  
Bravero walked up to Wesley. "Azure Syndicate, information, _now_."

"Whoa, whoa, easy there big guy." Wesley held his hands up. "Let's all be friends here, alright? I'm here as a 'mon out of a job, you get me? Just sticking around to see this festival shindig. The celebration is way cooler here where there's actual daylight, and a starry sky isn't obstructed by clouds or some other thing in the sky. Besides, since their attack on the Lord n' Lady, we've cut ties with 'em. We aren't exactly keen on those who try to expand into our territory when we were there first."

"No, that makes zero sense." Bravero shook his head. "I'm guessing from your speech and context clues that you're from Noironia?"

"The one and only."

"That's too far from the Azure Syndicate's range in the Normal Province. Besides, they aren't concerned with expansion. Whatever caused them to do anything, if even was them, was definitely something someone close to your lord or lady did."

"Well well well, looks like we've got a trivia buff over here!" Wesley laughed. "I like you, so I'll cut you a deal. You help me get to the bottom of what happened back in my village, and I help you get your younger brother back. I suppose I should mention I was listening in on your conversation the whole time by the way."

Wesley turned to Verden. "So, where's your boss-man, Conlan? I don't exactly have anywhere else to go, and with you and Sir Sibling over here, I'm starting to get curious as to what it's like."

* * *

 _ **Galexialyn and Gina: Support Rank D Reached**_

"You reek of mass murder." A heavily scarred weavile wearing all manner of gothic jewelry approached Gina on the street and those were the first words to leave the pokemon's mouth.

"You reek of moldy books."

"I have plenty." The weavile motioned to her brown bag. "Now, escort me to the base of the mercenary band known as Moonbrand. I intend to join."

"Look, I get that Moonbrand's thing is letting anyone join, but you're _really_ creeping me out with that dagger you keep fiddling with, and I honestly have half a mind to raise an alarm rather than bring you home with me."  
"Well, if you refuse, I suppose it _has_ been a while since I feasted on the limbs of the living…I guess I-"

Gina quickly pinned the weavile to the ground, though she didn't seem fazed. "-could hold off on any snacks until later tonight so that I can savor every bite I take out of you."

"Don't fuck with me, you freak." Gina lowered her head towards the weavile. "I've killed fighting type pokemon more powerful than you, but I _really_ don't want to taint what so far has been a pretty good day with your blood. I _will_ if I have to though, so do I have to?"

"No...you don't have to." The weavile responded. "I am Galexialyn. And I was simply curious to see how you would react to that kind of language. Go ahead and call me Galex or Xialyn depending on whether you wish to treat me as male or female. I personally don't quite care all that much. After all, the only real difference is who does what during sex."

"You're lucky you caught me having a good day." Gina sighed as she got off. "Listen Xialyn, I'll take you to camp, but you've got to promise me something. Don't do what you just did to me to a breloom named Verden, because if I see it, I _will_ assume the worst, and _will_ attack to kill."  
"Very well. I'll only test him when you aren't around."

"That wasn't the goal I was hoping for, but fine. I suppose that works too."

* * *

 _ **Bravero and Semora: Support Rank S Reached(from double rank up)**_

"Semora!" Bravero called out to the sceptile as he walked towards her.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up to pester me." Semora said jokingly, before catching herself smiling and changing her expression to a frown. "What do you want?"  
"Only to talk, but this time not about any Azure Syndicate. The topic I'm most interested in right now...is _you_."

"Me?" Semora, try as she might, couldn't keep the blush from showing on her cheeks.

"Yes, you. Why is it that you are an assassin when you very much don't act like one?"

"Well, since I know you won't leave me alone until I tell you anyways, I guess I'll let you know." Semora sighed. "When I was 16, recently evolved into a grovyle, my mother was killed in a house fire set by a magmortar. My dad, a professional assassin at the time, helped me escape, and together we tracked the magmortar down. He was my first kill, but my father was injured in the fight. No medic could heal his leg. A ligament had been torn beyond any hope of repair, and he could no longer work, so I decided to do the work for him. We used the money I made to buy a new house and even today I send the money I make back to him, following his code of rules for being a professional assassin. The most important being only take contracts to kill pokemon who deserve death. Now that I've told you all of this, I too have a question for you, Bravero."

"Go ahead, I'll answer to the very best of my ability."

"Why do you think I don't act like an assassin? My profession and personality need not be the same thing, but beyond that, I thought I very much was acting like an assassin."

"I suppose you are pretty stoic ofttimes." Bravero laughed. "But, I suppose I just didn't see you as an assassin. My first thought about you wasn't 'so there's Semora, the assassin, better be careful', my first thought was 'so there's Semora, wow she's so pretty, I wonder if she'll go to the Star Shower with me.'"

"That's...one way to ask." Semora momentarily avoided eye contact. "But I'm not the best at group parties so-"

"We won't be in a group though. It'll just be us. No Verden, no Aaron, no one but us."

"Well then…" Semora smiled as she looked Bravero in the eyes. "I suppose it's a date."

* * *

 _ **Ken and Charlie: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Wait, excuse me, wait!" A kirlia ran after Charlie, finally managing to get in front of her and cut her off.

"Wait, please!" He stuck his hand out, panting. "It's really important, it's about your book!"

"Oh no, I didn't drop it again did I?!" Charlie looked around nervously.

"N-no, nothing like that." the kirlia grabbed Charlie's hands. "That's my _favorite_ book. Where did you get it?! Does the store still sell that copy? Hardcover or only paperback?"

"Back away before I attack you." Charlie responded with a smile and the kirlia backed up.

"So sorry about that!" He laughed. "My name's Ken, and I've been wandering for a while in search of Camp Moonbrand."

"I'm Charlie, and if you're looking for Camp Moonbrand, well, it's just down that road." Charlie pointed him in the right direction. "You aren't a criminal?"

"No?" Ken rose an eyebrow.

"Then you're probably already in." Charlie rolled her eyes. "Conlan just accepts everyone who comes our way."

"Thank you very much Charlie." Ken smiled. "I was wondering if perhaps you would allow me to accompany you to the Star Shower?"

"Oh, well, I had planned to go with my friend, but I suppose you can come too. Fair warning though, you'll be disappointed if you try to make a move on me. I'm a girls only womon."

"I like 'em both." Ken shrugged. "But anyways, about that book, where was it being sold again?"

* * *

 _ **Conlan and Hex: Support Rank D Reached**_

"So Hex, what were you and Micah doing in Emberguard?" Conlan asked.

"Tracking down the movements of a specific member of The Obsidian Legion. He's got a lot he needs to answer for, and I also wanted to see if he truly was a part of them. To make a long story short, he was."

"I'm sorry to hear that, I guess." Conlan lowered his head. "If you ever do want help with whatever is going on, feel free to ask me or any of the other Moonbrand members about it."

"Alright, cool."

* * *

 _ **Magdalene and Gina: Support Rank B Reached**_

"Hey Gina…" Magdalene slowly walked up to where Gina was once again enjoying a funnel cake. "I was wondering if you'd gotten any information about the globe yet?"  
"The only globes I have information on are of no interest to you." Gina responded. "I will say, however, that I _have_ tried to find answers, but there's nothing so far. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it came from a completely separate world than this one."

"W-what?" Magdalene gave a nervous laugh. "That's ridiculous, you're just teasing me."

"Eh, you aren't wrong, but I'm still telling the truth." Gina shrugged. "There seems to be nothing about that globe in any texts available to the public, and for obvious reasons, I don't feel like breaking into some psychic province library just for a little orb around your neck."

"Well, I guess that's fair, but if anything does come up, you promise you'll tell me?"

"Yes, now please let me finally finish this funnel cake."

* * *

 _ **Charlie and Gina: Support Rank C Reached**_

"Gina-"

"Kyurem's _Fucking_ Ballsack!" Gina shouted with a face full of food before turning to Charlie. "What?!"

"Ah, this is a bad time? I can go."

Gina, realizing who it was, quickly swallowed the food she had in her mouth and corrected the situation. "No, now's fine, now's fine! I'm sorry about that. I've just had a very _very_ busy day, and I thought you were someone else. So, are you here because of why I think you're here?"

"You said you wanted to learn, and wanted to schedule a lesson when we returned to Lightgrasp." Charlie nodded. "I've brought a few different types of pencils, but since you're a glaceon, I think maybe I should have brought something a little more quadruped friendly like acrylic paints.

"Well, let's just start the lesson, and we'll see how well I can do holding a pencil in my mouth." Gina suggested. "If it turns out we needed paint, we can just go get some together."

"Fair enough." Charlie nodded. "Let's get this lesson started."

* * *

 _ **Ornia and Magdalene: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Magdalene, are these tossed out strategies of your design?"

"Huh?" Magdalene turned around to see the sheets of paper Ornia had dropped at her feet. "Oh, yeah those are mine. I didn't-"

"Would you mind terribly if I kept them?"

"But they aren't good!" Magdalene protested. "I tossed them because they didn't hold up in practice! Moonbrand is too small a group for those things to be doable."

"You are correct, but an army is no small group, and the way all these strategies take property into account so as to cause the least amount of damage to a living area or an ecosystem, you have the mind of a Fable strategist."

"I very certainly do _not_ have the mind of a Fable strategist." Magdalene responded, thinking of Concordia.

"Well, perhaps not now, but these strategies do have merit, and you're still young. In ten years time when you're well into your adulthood, you may be quite the proud tactician if you keep at it though. After all, Concordia began her career as the laughing stock of the Fable military, and now she's weasled her way into Deirdre and Paulo's court. You aren't even a laughing stock, so imagine how much further you might be able to go."

"Well, I'll think about it." Magdalene said. "And sure, feel free to keep the strategies there."

"Thank you!" Ornia exclaimed as she balanced them upon her head and left. "May Tapu Lele bless your years!"

* * *

 _ **Ken and Bravero: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Hello?" Ken asked as he poked his head into a tent that Bravero was currently inside. "I was told to come to one of these tents and put my stuff down here."  
"I guess this tent does have a spare bed in it." Bravero replied. "Welcome to the team kid, name's Bravero. You?"

"I'm Ken." Ken replied with a bow. "I'm not the best fighter, but I pride myself as a bard on my support capabilities."

"Support capabilities?" Bravero rose a brow. "Well, we certainly could use support, especially now that our healer recently kicked the bucket."

"Actually, I know Heal Pulse too." Ken smiled. "So I guess we're killing two pidgeys with one Smack Down."

"Then let me ask you a question kid, are you ready to see some of the most fucked up shit this world has to offer? I'm talking friends being raped and then eaten levels of fucked up shit."

"Anyone who says they're ready to see stuff like that is either lying or messed up in the head." Ken responded "But while I doubt I'll ever be ready to see those kinds of things, it's another story entirely concerning whether or not I'm prepared to join Moonbrand anyways."

This got a loud and hearty laugh out of Bravero. "You're alright, Ken." He held out a fist. "Here's to working together with ya."

"Woo!" Ken returned the fist bump.

* * *

 _ **Aaron and Bravero: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Come on, hit harder!" Bravero encouraged Aaron as the two sparred against each other in the courtyard of their tent. "We've got a new kid in our tent right now and he doesn't want to listen to you fail at sparring!"

"He's not going to!" Aaron retorted back confidently. "Because my Iron Tail and Iron Head are going to get so powerful they'll be able to kick your ass without any effort!"

"Big words, but I'd like to see them put into action!"

"You're on!"

* * *

 _ **Charlie and Magdalene: Support Rank A Reached(from double rank up)**_

"Magdalene, fancy joining me and a newbie for the Star Shower festival?" Charlie asked. "We can impress him with the story about digging a pit to stop Hereweald."

"That sounds great." Magdalene smiled. "And yeah, I'd love to. By the way, I've heard that you also sometimes think up strategies. If you'd like, maybe we could get together and do that sometime? I'm sure that if we put our heads together we can come up with something incredible!"

"Sounds like a plan!"

* * *

 _ **Magdalene and Verden: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Verden, how's it going?" Magdalene asked.

"It goes well, I suppose." Verden shrugged. "What's up? Something on your mind?"

"Not really." Magdalene shrugged back. "It's just that we were just on a really long mission together and I know Gina pretty well, and _knew_ Bennett pretty well, so I decided I might as well try to get to know you too. So, is there anything you like to do in your spare time?"

"Um…" Verden thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Nothing that I feel safe telling someone not yet considered an adult. Sorry."

"Oh, well then...I guess when I come back and ask again in a few years you can tell me."

"If I haven't made millions and retired by then, sure." Verden laughed.

* * *

 _ **Semora and Charlie: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Hey."

"Hey."

* * *

 _ **Ultima and Aaron: Support Rank D Reached**_

"And you must be Aaron!" Ultima said as Aaron turned around to see the large gyarados before him. "I am Ultima, a new Moonbrand member, and future ruler of these lands."

"That's mighty ambitious of you." Aaron laughed, not taking what Ultima said seriously at all. "You sure queen Tashia is even accepting solicitations from suitors?"

"You misunderstand, by Kyogre's will, I shall rule The Known World one day."

"Well, the king of Crystallia has a wife and kid, and Kyogre hasn't been around since The Age of Mew began, and he hasn't been part of popular religion since...well I'm not sure he's _ever_ been part of popular religion."

"Please refrain from insulting my clan's patron deity." Ultima responded. "I am here not only to introduce myself, but to ask for your opinion on a specific matter."

"That specific matter will have to wait, sorry." Aaron replied. "I've got a haxorus to go find before it gets too late. Catch me alone again some other time, alright?"

"Very well." Ultima nodded as Aaron walked away. "I wonder if he truly is the rumored pokemon with a cannon in his chest..."

* * *

 _ **Aaron and Semora: Support Rank C Reached**_

"Hey, Semora, have you seen Hex around recently?" Aaron asked as he noticed Semora, still browsing various antiques.

"I do not believe I have yet, no." Semora shook her head. "Was that all?"

"Well actually, since I've got you here, and you don't appear to be busy...I guess I do have a question. What would be a good way to ask Hex to the Star Shower Festival?"

"I don't know, we don't talk much."

"But I've seen you guys sparring nearly every day together since we got back! How do you not talk much?"

"How do you not talk much with Bravero?" Semora asked. "You two spare all the time too, don't you?"

"Well that might be true, but not as often as you and Hex."

"You might want to change that then." Semora responded. "Hex and I, all other things allowing, would spare even more often than we already do if we could help it."

"Those sound like fighting words." Aaron furrowed his brow as he grinned. "Later this month let's put the money where your mouth is. You and Hex, me and Bravero. 1000 poke each."

"Very well." Semora agreed. "It'll be the easiest poke I've ever earned."

* * *

 _ **Ultima and Conlan: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Thank you for letting me join, boss." Ultima lowered his head in a bow towards Conlan. "I'll be sure to remember it when I rule over you, and I will look upon you and your descendants favorably."

"Have you been talking with Ornia?" Conlan rose a brow.

"The carbink paladin of Tapu Lele?" Ultima asked. "She was the first Moonbrand I ever encountered, but I have made a point to avoid her since then, as she seemed rather intolerant of my faith in Kyogre, he who has given me these lands to rule over."

"I can't believe we have a second one." Conlan mumbled.

"What? I couldn't hear you." Ultima lowered his head.

"This new team is going to be fun!" Conlan lied about what he said.

"Ah." Ultima nodded. "Yes it is, isn't it?"

* * *

 _ **Galexialyn and Conlan: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Are you the leader of Moonbrand?" Galexialyn stuck her head into Conlan and Rudo's house and asked Conlan, who got up from where he had just sat down to go talk to the new visitor.

"Wesley?" Conlan asked, momentarily confused. "No, you're not Wesley. Who are you?"

"I am Galexialyn." She bowed. "I was directed here by your Gina and I wish to join."

"Well, sure...but... _what_ is your name again?"

"Galexialyn."

"Is there _anything_ other than that I can call you so I don't mispronounce it?"

"Galex and Xialyn are both fine nicknames, depending on whether you wish to treat me as male or female."

"Um...okay...then which do _you_ prefer?"

"It matters not to me. The only difference between the two is who does what during sex, and I'm much more open about-"

"Alright, Xialyn it is then." Conlan sighed as he waved a hand. "If only because there's already a male weavile that just joined this morning."

* * *

 _ **Hex and Aaron: Support Rank A Reached(from double rank up)**_

"There you are!" Both Aaron and Hex said at the same time to each other. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Will you go to the Star Shower Festival with me?"

"Really?"

"Yes, really, will you go?"

"Yeah, I'll go!"

"Just the two of us, alright?"

"Of course."

"Alright see you there."

"Likewise!"

After realizing they had just had the exact same conversation twice over with each other, both of them erupted into laughter.

* * *

 _ **Ken and Rudo: Support Rank D Reached**_

"F-fl-flannel-" Rudo tried desperately to read a sign. "Flannel coats?"

"*Ahem*." Ken coughed. "Funnel cake. That sign says 'funnel cake'."

"Oh? Ohhhhhh…." Rudo seemed to realize whatever mistake she had made. "Thanks, um…"

She cocked her head. "Are you even on Moonbrand? Why are you wearing that scarf?"

"Oh, right." Ken bowed. "My name is Ken, and I'm a new Moonbrand member. Check with Conlan and he'll confirm it. I assume by your own scarf that you must be Rudo?"

"Yeah, that's me." Rudo nodded. "Well, welcome to Moonbrand, I hope to work well with you in the coming age."

"Consider the sentiment returned." Ken smiled. "By the way, I've got to ask...are you only recently learning literacy?"

"W-well...up until recently, I didn't really need it since I was sitting around an orphanage all day long, but since forming Moonbrand, it's become a bit of a necessity and while I might be a little slow on the uptake, I'm getting there! I'll be fully literate soon just you wait!"

"In that case, how about I offer you even more. There's Normal sure, but how would you like to read Psychic, or Dragon, or better yet, Ancient Poison. That's an interesting one. As a bard, I've got to be able to read all manner of languages, and I can speak a few too."

"That's so cool!" Rudo's eyes lit up. "Yes, you _have_ to teach me, please!"

"W-well, if you insist that strongly, I suppose I certainly do have to teach you. Think about which one you'd like to learn and come to me when you've got an answer alright?"

"Right!"

* * *

 _ **James and Mandy: Support Rank D Reached**_

"What's this?" Mandy asked as he noticed a bottle conspicuously rolling along the street she was walking on. "Is this some prank bottle with an inflatable haunter balloon inside?"

"Gahhh!" The haunter gasped for air as mandy released the cork from the bottle and he flew out.

"Oh, sweet sweet freedom!"

He quickly began to shake Mandy's hand. "You have my undying thanks, um…"

"M-Mandy…" Mandy responded. "My name is Mandy. What's yours?"

"I am James." The haunter nodded. "Once upon a time I was a Jolteon, but that was a past life. Now I am James the haunter, and to be perfectly honest, I have absolutely nowhere to go and have no clue where I am at the moment. Think I could join your mercenary team, or does it already have all 16 members?"

"Well, actually…" Mandy explained. "We're in Ignia, which is no longer an affiliate of the UGM, and that means we follow the Ignia cap of mercenary bands."

"What's the Ignia cap then?" James asked.

"24 is the new cap." Mandy nodded. "I think you'd be member 17 by now, but I can't be sure. We've been getting a lot of applicants today."

"Well then, please point me in the direction of your leader and I'll have them sign me up!"

"I think it might be better if I just take you there myself." Mandy realized. "You don't want to end up stuck in a bottle again."

"No ma'am I don't!" James laughed.

* * *

 _ **Hex and Bravero: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Hey Bravero, did you hear about the bouffalant-shit bet that Aaron and Semora made about us?"

"The one about having to spar at the end of the month and everyone putting up 1000 poke? I heard."

"That's dumb. We both know that there's no way you and Aaron have better chemistry than Semora and I do."

"Normally I'd agree, but I'd wager that both Aaron and I have more raw drive than the two of you, and that's going to help us win."

"Dammit, now I just want to fight you sooner." Hex laughed. "I shouldn't have stoked these flames, now I'm all raring to go."

"You've got me anticipating this now too, dammit." Bravero laughed.

* * *

 _ **Verden and Conlan: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Conlan?" Verden asked. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"What is it?" Conlan replied as he followed Verden out of his and Rudo's house and into the courtyard.

"Conlan, considering that I helped Gina with taking down general Ardent, and that my Spore is what incapacitated Visha, I really hope that you'll allow me a raise in my salary."

"Hm…." Conlan seemed perplexed. "I mean, I suppose I can't argue with results, but I'm concerned as to why this matter sounds so urgent to you. I don't want to find out the extra money has been spent on drugs or is going to some criminal organization."

"No, the extra money isn't going there." Verden shook his head. "I…"

He looked to make sure that no one else was around.

"I'm hoping to buy a matching pair of decorated destiny knots so that I can give one to Gina tonight."

"A matching pair of-" Conlan soon realized what destiny knots were the equivalent of in this world. "Ohhhhhhhh! Yes, Verden, of course you can have a raise. Also, if you ever need to request time off for *ahem* related events, don't be afraid to do so. I wish you luck tonight and hope to hear good news by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, very much." Verden bowed before leaving.

* * *

 _ **Galexialyn and Hex: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Your scar reminds me of my time as a cult leader." Galexialyn observed as she walked by Hex.

"Your scars remind me of your time as a cult leader. What a coincidence." Hex joked, not knowing who this weavile was, but also not caring at the moment as she had a date to get ready for. "I'll see you around, strange weavile lady."

"Have a good night, Hextra."

* * *

 _ **Hex and Semora: Support Rank C Reached**_

"I'll be honest, Sem. I wasn't expecting to see you getting ready to head out tonight. You struck me as the stay at home kind of pokemon."

"I am the stay at home kind of pokemon." Semora replied. "But, I suppose...if you _must_ know, I was asked by Bravero."

"Yeah? That's great! He must really be something to get you out of the house."

"He-...That's not-"  
"Aw, don't hide it. You're confident at all other times, just keep that confidence going." Hex shrugged. "That's been my approach so far anyways, and it's working nice and fast with my own quarry."

"I'll...keep that in mind. Do be sure not to interrupt us though, otherwise I'll exercise my right to kill as an assassin. Or, at the very least, really beat you up next time we spar."

* * *

 _ **Bravero and Magdalene: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Hey." Bravero tapped Magdalene on the shoulder and then pointed at Wesley. "He's got something of yours."

"What?" Magdalene asked. "What did he take?"

Bravero shrugged. "I dunno, didn't see what it was, but it was small and round, and he didn't have it before passing by you. You might want to go after him."

"I will, thank you so much Bravero, I owe you one."

 _ **Wesley and Magdalene: Support Rank D Reached**_

"Hey you!" Magdalene shouted after Wesley who turned to face her with a smile as he tossed the globe he had pickpocketed off her back to her.

"Don't worry, I wasn't stealing it permanently or anything, just appraising it, and you're in luck, I happen to know _exactly_ what this globe around your neck is. Well, care to find out?"

Magdalene's brow furrowed. "I don't think I'll trust you, but go ahead and tell me anyways."

"Well, I don't feel like telling you the whole story if you don't trust me, but I suppose I'll at least tell you the name and a fun fact about it." Wesley shrugged. "What you've got right there, little lady, is none other than the Space Globe, To put it quite simply, it's literally not of this planet. It's also-Ooooh, wait. I gotta keep my lips sealed. After all, you don't trust me. Not that I really blame you. Still though, I only give out all my info for free if I'm good friends with a client, and I especially won't tell them everything if they say they don't trust me."

"Well, if you want my trust, you have to earn it." Magdalene huffed before walking away. "And if I catch you stealing my stuff again, I'm bringing it up with Conlan and having you dropped!"

"Challenge accepted then." Wesley laughed to himself.

* * *

 **Star Shower Festival**

"Come on, come on, it's starting!"  
All manner of pokemon, big and small, young and old, all over the world were gathering outdoors to watch the Star Shower, signifying the change in the year, and this time, even a change in Age. Alvar the reshiram had partitioned off the best views for pokemon electing to go as couples and left a general public space open for pokemon going in groups.

While many of Moonbrand went together in their own subgroups,.some pokemon had decided to go as couples, and as comets streaked across the sky and stars began to fly by, the romantic atmosphere became perfectly charged for moments of confession and intimacy.

* * *

 _ **Star Shower Scene 1: Bravero and Semora(Y Rank Reached)**_

"It's so beautiful!" Semora said as Bravero rested his arm around her shoulder and she leaned on his. "It's like the sky itself is one giant antique painting, and the gods are creating brushstrokes."

"That is a truly lovely way of looking at it." Bravero said with a smile. "I could sit here watching this with you forever if time allowed it."

"Me too." Semora agreed.

"Hey Semora, guess what." Bravero smiled as he looked down at her face and she looked up into his eyes.

"What?"

"I'm in love with you."

For a split second, Semora had the urge to run away. She wasn't good at opening up to others and even worse at opening up to herself, but she thought back on her conversation with Hex, and, trusting both her own and her friend's judgement, decided to be honest, especially to herself.

"Guess what, Bravero." She smiled. "I love you too."

She leaned up and their lips connected in a tender kiss that lasted for all of a minute before the nearly four months worth of sexual tension in both of them came to a boiling point and the kiss became intensely passionate, tongues fighting and wrapping around each other as both pokemon's hands moved down each other's bodies.

The pair eventually rolled over onto the blanket they had lain out on the ground, and without needing any communication at all, the two became one.

"Mmn...Mmn...Mmn…" Semora moaned as Bravero continued his strong but gentle thrusts all while their kissing continued.

"You're so fucking sexy." Bravero complimented her as he pulled away from the kiss to focus on moving his hips faster.

"Unh...say it again...unh…" Semora ordered as Bravero lifted her leg over his shoulder.

"You're so fucking sexy!" Bravero panted as he repeated himself more forcefully. "Ugh, I love you so fucking much!"

He kissed her foot before lowering it, and repositioning Semora so that he was spooning her.

He leaned in towards her breasts.

"Unh...Oahhh…" Semora moaned as she felt Bravero's lips sucking her. "Come here…" She grabbed his head and pulled him up back towards her face and into another passionate tongue kiss.

"You can let it out wherever you want, okay?" She asked through pants of her own after the saliva swapping had concluded.

"Alright then…" Bravero quickly kissed Semora again, before repositioning her so she was on her back, with himself in between her legs. "Brace yourself!" He warned as he quickly sped up his thrusts, Semora able to feel their increased intensity.

"Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, yes, Bravero, yes!" She lost herself in the pleasure.

"Unh...here it...comes…" Bravero warned.

"Come on, do it! Let it all out! I want to feel it!"

"Here it comes!" Bravero's voice tensed up as he let out a few final powerful thrusts. "Unh...Angh….Arngggghhh...ahhh…"

"It's so warm…" Semora smiled as the liquid pooled on the blanket where Bravero had pulled away from.

"That...was fucking amazing." Bravero said as the two cuddled close to each other and continued to kiss in the afterglow.

"I'll say." Semora agreed. "We should go on these dates more often."

"Speaking of more often…" Bravero looked down.

"It's hard again?" Semora's eyes widened, before she lowered her eyelids seductively. "Well, I suppose it would be rude to decline such an invitation…" She giggled as she brought Bravero back into another kiss.

* * *

 _ **Star Shower Scene 2: Verden and Gina(M Rank Reached)**_

"Gina, you feeling alright?" Verden asked as he noticed Gina somewhat stewing in anger. "We can go home if you don't want to stay here you know."

"No, it's fine." Gina sighed. "I had one hell of a day after our _amazing_ morning workout." She laughed. "I'm just happy to be here with you."

"Well, I'm glad you think that." Verden smiled as he reached into his bag.

"You aren't looking for that toxic orb again are you?" Gina's eyes narrowed. "I don't mind it normally, but when we're on a fucking date, I better not see that thing, understand?"

"I'm not reaching for my toxic orb." Verden assured her as he pulled out a small opaque case.

"What is that?" Gina asked, remaining suspicious.

Verden knelt down and held out the case in his hands.

"Verden, what are you doing, honey?" Gina laughed nervously, now catching on.

"Gina...I love you so much...more than anything in this whole world, and when I had to restart my life over in Moonbrand, you were there to make sure that my new life was one hell of a lot better than my old one. I don't think my words are enough to even come close to stating just how much you mean to me. I bought these, hoping in my heart that you might feel the same way. Gina, once again, I love you so much...so much that I would have to be the world's biggest fool if I didn't use this opportunity to ask for your um...paw...in marriage…"

"Oh, Verden...you dork." Gina smiled as she gently opened the box and slowly put on her own half of the decorated destiny knot pendant that Verden had purchased. "Of course I will, you nut. No need to *sniff* make such a big *sniff* deal out of it…"

"Well, I remember a certain glaceon telling me long ago that she was never treated like the beauty she truly was, so I felt now would be the best time, because there might be a shower of stars behind me right now, but the pokemon I'm looking at is more beautiful to me than even a miracle of nature."

"*Sniff*…" Gina could no longer fight any tears of joy streaming down her face. "Now look what you've done, you made me cry. *Sniff* Come here!"

Gina stood up on her hind legs, putting her front legs on Verden's shoulders as the two shared a tender kiss.

"I love you too Verden, let's set our lives right together."

* * *

 _ **Star Shower Scene 3: Aaron and Hex(S Rank Reached)**_

"Hey, thanks for inviting me up here on your own initiative." Hex nudged Aaron in the shoulder as the two of them watched the star shower. "For some reason, I thought you wouldn't have the guts to do it."

"No, I'm no coward." Aaron shook his head. "Just because I might be nervous about something doesn't mean that I won't go through with my plans, and it certainly doesn't mean I let it show. I prefer to approach everything and everyone with confidence.

"Wooooow…." Hex grinned. "Where's the notebook you wrote that down in?"

"Notebook?" Aaron laughed. "Do I really look like the kind of pokemon to write things down in a notebook?"

"No, you definitely don't. You do look pretty fuckin' hot right now though, especially with the shooting stars in the background."

"I could say the same thing about you." Aaron grinned. "A shiny haxorus womon sitting in front of a clear starry sky during a star shower revealing the cosmos...Man, I can't help it Hex, you gotta be my girlfriend."

"I thought I'd have to suggest it myself for a minute there." Hex laughed. "Alright Aaron, congratulations to both of us, we've got ourselves a significant other. You should know that my last twelve boyfriends are all crazed murder machines and you can clearly tell that I'm joking can't you?"

"If I was up on one of those stars, I'd still be able to tell you were joking it was so obvious." Aaron laughed.

"..."

"..."

"So it appears that I can't think of much else to talk about right now." Hex shrugged. "So, let's just sort of make out for a while instead."

"Sounds great to me." Aaron nodded. "And don't worry about the tusks, my metal can handle them."

"I was about to say the reverse to you." Hex laughed. "My tusks can handle your metal."

"Then truly, we are the match made in the heavens." Aaron joked.

Both pokemon laughed as they leaned in and began to kiss.

* * *

 _ **Star Shower Scene 4: Conlan and Rudo(M Rank Reached)**_

"Agh…" Conlan pulled away once again. "Stick your chest out, I'm about to-"

"Let it out all over them…" Rudo giggled as she pushed her breasts out as far as she could.

"Oghh…" Conlan let out a steady stream of white that planted itself on Rudo's chest.

"Hunh…" Rudo said as she felt down between her legs. "It's been inside until now so I hadn't given it much thought but this looks like the same stuff we saw back in the Ember W-"

Her eyes widened. "And I was going to _touch_ that stuff?"

She looked over at an exhausted Conlan. "Thank you so so so so much for making sure I didn't touch that back then!"

"Uh-huh…" Conlan replied, somewhat out of it. "Happy birthday by the way…"

"Eh-heh…" Rudo sheepishly laughed. "I can't help it, I'm sorry. I just, I wanted to make the most out of my coming of age today. The first one was supposed to be tonight, but you had to run into me earlier today too!"

"Rudo, you know I love you, but I can't guarantee my stay here, so I need to ask if there's any sort of contraceptives in-"

"What are 'contraceptives'?" Rudo asked.

"That probably answers my question." Conlan sighed. "I doubt you still wouldn't know about them by now if they existed here. Just know that I'm worried about leaving you alone to look after other pokemon without me around to help you."

"Oh, well…" Rudo began to wipe herself off. "If you're really that worried, we can always just get married. That way you'll always be with me. You know, 'till death do you part' and all that."

"That's a nonchalant way to ask." Conlan laughed. "But considering the day I've had, I guess I no longer really have a reason to say no. I guess I should go buy some destiny knots then."

"Yep." Rudo grinned as she leaned over Conlan and gave him a soft kiss. "For now though, you might want to buckle up, because we aren't stopping until the stars are done falling and the Age of Entei is upon us!"

Conlan would have protested, but the second Rudo placed her hand on his nipple, he felt his member stiffen up again.

* * *

 **The Year Turning Festival Conclusion**

 _And so, Moonbrand, now with 17 Members, celebrated two engagements and two more emergent couples among themselves._

 _The Age of Entei began once the Star Shower had ended, and during that first day, Moonbrand received three separate letters._

 _The first letter Moonbrand received was one from Hadria herself, asking for four able-bodied Moonbrand members to meet her in Drudezdag to help Team Soulwind with their upcoming mission, a mission to find an ancient item capable of broadcasting a message to the entirety of The Known World at once._

 _The second letter was addressed to Conlan specifically, and from the look of sheer enthusiasm on Ornia's face, before he even opened it, Conlan knew it was a letter from King Paulo of Fable. The document was written in a warm and friendly tone, as though the king was speaking to an equal, something Conlan had come to think Fairy Province natives incapable of doing. The letter expressed an urgent desire to meet Conlan at the earliest convenience, along with as much of his team as he could bring with him. While the letter itself was vague in describing the problem Conlan needed to solve, the King made it quite clear that any reward Conlan could think of would be granted to him for his services._

 _The final letter came later in the day, Inkeri herself had hand delivered it, having traveled from Wildeburn. She explained that the letter was a request from Tashia that five Moonbrand members meet her in Wildeburn Keep to discuss matters concerning the safety of the nation, even asking for a somewhat disappointed Ornia by name._

 _After Rudo agreed to head the mission to Drudezdag, and Ornia was convinced by Conlan to stay in Ignia as a valued protector while he himself led the mission to Fable, Conlan gave the Moonbrand members free reign to choose which mission they embarked on with the fair warning that these missions would be far longer than what they had experienced thus far. Once the missions were set, the parties all struck out towards their destinations on the 5th of First Month, Year 1, of the Age of Entei._

* * *

 _ **AN0: Ken the kirlia was submitted by CassandraTruth! Thank you Cassandra(Can I call you Cassandra?)**_

 _ **Ultima the gyarados was submitted by UltiLevs! Thank you UltiLevs!**_

 _ **Galexialyn the weavile was submitted by Soonai! Thank you Soonai!**_

 _ **Wesley the weavile was submitted by Dragon-wolf, Thank you Dragon-wolf!**_

 _ **James the haunter was submitted by King Eevee! Thank you Eevee(Can I call you Eevee?)**_

* * *

 _ **AN1: You literally just read it, but there's missions! It's first come-first served so get your mission before someone else takes it from you!**_

* * *

 _ **Mission 1: To Drudezdag, Capital of Noironia**_

 _ **Moonbrand 1: Rudo**_

 _ **Moonbrand 2: Aaron**_

 _ **Moonbrand 3: Hex**_

 _ **Moonbrand 4: Wesley**_

* * *

 _ **Mission 2: To Lliirasune, Capital of Fable**_

 _ **Moonbrand 1: Conlan**_

 _ **Moonbrand 2: Magdalene**_

 _ **Moonbrand 3: Semora**_

 _ **Moonbrand 4: Bravero**_

 _ **Moonbrand 5: Galexialyn**_

 _ **Moonbrand 6: Charlie**_

 _ **Moonbrand 7: Ken**_

 _ **Moonbrand 8: James**_

* * *

 _ **Mission 3: To Wildeburn, Capital of Ignia**_

 _ **Moombrand 1: Ornia**_

 _ **Moonbrand 2: Gina**_

 _ **Moonbrand 3: Ultima**_

 _ **Moonbrand 4: Verden**_

 _ **Moonbrand 5: Mandy**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: TAG! We got a lot of 'em from these double rank ups and get togethers!**_

 _ **TAG!: Verden and Gina: Ice Bomb: A combination of Ice Shard and Seed Bomb, that always goes first, can hit multiple enemy targets, and has a high chance of freezing the opponent.**_

 _ **TAG!: Verden and Gina: Focused Redirect: A combination of Focus Punch and Mirror Coat, if a special attack is used on Verden or Gina, the pair can fight back by redirecting the attack back at the target with twice the energy without taking any damage from the initial attack.**_

 _ **TAG!: Verden and Gina: Sub-Blizzard: A combination of Substitute and Blizzard, Verden creates a Substitute for both himself and Gina, who then creates a large-scale blizzard that the substitutes then spread, the effect being an attack that hits all enemy pokemon, with the power of a Powder Snow, but with a 100% chance to freeze if hit by the attack.**_

* * *

 _ **TAG!: Bravero and Semora: Sun Blade: A combination of Sunny Day and Leaf Blade, For as long as Bravero's Sunny Day lasts during this move, Semora's Leaf Blade attacks will deal both Grass and Fire Damage, and count as both a Physical and Special attack. Their critical hit chance is 50%.**_

 _ **TAG!: Bravero and Semora: Poison Team: A combination of Double Team and Poison Jab, Semora creates clones of Bravero, who then all use Poison Jab on a single target, guaranteed to badly poison them upon a hit.**_

 _ **TAG!: Bravero and Semora: Flaming Curb Stomp: A combination of Blast Burn and Low Kick, Bravero's Blast Burn knocks all but pokemon with Flash Fire off-balance, forcing them to the ground, while Semora finishes them off with a Low Kick coup de grace. This attack is a one hit KO for all pokemon affected by both moves, except mission final bosses.**_

 _ **TAG!: Bravero and Semora: Pyroclastic Tephra: A combination of Sky Uppercut and Rock Slide, Semora's Rock Slide is used to coat Bravero in a suit of molten armor, which he then wears while he uses Sky Uppercut on the target. This move hits even flying pokemon, and has a 100% chance to burn the target. It also sharply raises Bravero's defense, and Semora's speed.**_

* * *

 _ **TAG!: Aaron and Hex: Rupture Rapture: A combination of Earthquake and Protect, Hex envelopes both herself and Aaron in a protect bubble while Aaron lets out a devastating Earthquake, dealing critical damage to each pokemon hit by it. This move is a one hit KO move for any rock or dark type pokemon that are hit by it.**_

 _ **TAG!: Aaron and Hex: Unleash the Plagues: A combination of Bulldoze and Poison Jab, Aaron's Bulldoze attack is spurred on by Hex's Poison Jab so that in addition to each affected pokemon's speed being lowered, they are poisoned as well. Pokemon underground take double damage, and pokemon underwater are badly poisoned.**_

* * *

 _ **AN3: Important Hiatus Notice: This story will not be updated for the rest of the month, as I plan to focus more on a few of my other fics on the site for a while, but this story will return sometime in April, so do not despair.**_

* * *

 _ **AN4: Instead of despair, why not OC?**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	12. April, November, Same Diff

**Ignia: Town of Lightgrasp: Age of Entei: Year 1: 5th of First Month**

 **Rudo's Squad Total Funds: 12,000P(3,000P per pokemon)**

 **Conlan's Squad Total Funds: 33,000P(4,125P per pokemon)**

 **Ornia's Squad Total Funds: 15,000P(3,000P per pokemon)**

"Is everyone all packed and ready?" Conlan asked his squad, consisting of Bravero the blaziken, Charlie the charmeleon, Xialyn the weavile, James the haunter, Ken the kirlia, Magdalene the vulpix, and Semora the sceptile.

"Heading to Lliirasune…" Ken sighed as he stood near James. "Birthplace of pretty platitudes and petty principles."

"Aw, it can't be that bad!" James remained optimistic. "I hear they have a great entertainment industry."

"Well, I suppose they do have _that_ going for them" Ken agreed. "King Paulo himself started out nothing more than a street performer in a troupe after all."

"That explains the lack of haughtiness in his letter then" Conlan realized.

"What about my group?" Rudo turned to look at Aaron the aggron, Hex the haxorus, and Wesley, another weavile. "Are we ready to head to Noironia?"

"Oh, I can't _wait_ to show you guys around my home country!" Wesley exclaimed to Aaron and Hex. "There'll be darkness, dangerous cliff faces, a bunch of organized crime, a bunch of _un_ organized crime, there'll be-"

"That's...enough." Aaron held out a hand.

"And about that…" Hex turned to Rudo. "How are we heading there?"

"The path with the least geographic resistance would take us into Tawazun first, and then we'd head north from there." Rudo nodded as she gave her answer.

"Into the former ground province? The one run by The Obsidian Legion now?" Hex rose a brow.

"That's not a problem is it?" Rudo asked. "I say we head through, and if we're attacked, we attack right back! We'll be liberators then, y'know?"

"I don't have a problem with that at all" Hex grinned. "I might actually prefer this route over fighting rough terrain as the crow flies."

"Well if my own squad is done getting ready, perhaps we should be off towards Wildeburn." Ornia, a carbink, looked over her squad of Ultima, a mega gyarados anomaly, Mandy, a mawile, Gina, a glaceon, and Verden, a breloom. "It would be terribly rude of us to keep the queen waiting any longer than necessary."

"Oh, that reminds me, Ornia!" Rudo turned to face her. "My squad will be heading into Wildeburn first as well! If you want, we could travel together!"  
"No." Ornia shook her head. "You need to get to Drudezdag as quickly as possible. It's one thing to keep the queen of your own province waiting, but to keep the ruler of a different province waiting is far worse. My squad will trudge through the lands first, and you shall be a few hours behind us, so that we may clear you a path of minimal resistance."  
Rudo was unsure whether to be mad at Ornia's scolding, or thankful for the help she offered. She decided to be thankful.

"We'd appreciate that, thank you Ornia."

"Then I guess we'll be heading south through the Ember Wilds now." Conlan noticed that everyone in his squad was ready to go.

"Good luck, have fun on your journey!" Rudo planted a goodbye kiss on Conlan's cheek. "Be sure to write us when you make it to Lliirasune so I know you're safe!"

"Yes, yes, we'll all write each other during our travels" Ornia was getting increasingly impatient. "Now before we waste any more of the life Tapu Lele has blessed us with, we should finally _get going_!"

* * *

 **Ignia: Ignus Scrublands(7F Mystery Dungeon) Entrance: Age of Entei, Year 1: 5th of First Month: A Different Kind of Guild, Part 1**

 **Moonbrand Present: Gina, Mandy, Ornia, Ultima, Verden**

"Thankfully, since we are no longer bound by UGM limitations, we needn't split our party of five up to explore a mystery dungeon" Ornia noted as the group went over their game plan outside of the Ignus Scrublands near the kangaskhan statue. "Remember, our goal is to head to Wildeburn as quickly as possible, but also to clear this area of vermin so that our comrades heading to Drudezdag have less of a hassle once they arrive here as well."

The Ignus Scrublands, once a peaceful halfway point between the Blaze Desert and the Ember Wilds, now found themselves overrun with all manner of nasty pokemon. The small area made for wonderful bandit camps over the years, with clan after clan claiming the dungeon as their home, and modifying the soft soil and hard sand as they saw fit. While many stories of the Sapien Triage scared most pokemon away from the Ember Wilds, even the Triage themselves avoided the Ignus Scrublands, even more so when the most recent bandit clan to take control took over.

The scrublands had always been a dangerous mystery dungeon, but under the control of its current dominant inhabitants, the Ignus Scrublands had become a bona fide deathtrap. A deathtrap that Moonbrand now had a duty to enter.

 **1F**

As the Ignia squad of Moonbrand made their way into the first floor of the large, open dungeon, they noticed it...a pendulum-like boulder swinging around and around the area they'd entered, while a darumaka, a snover, a miltank, an aron, and a lapras all argued with each other while avoiding being hit by the large swinging rock.

"Oh, you see!" The snover pointed back towards Moonbrand. "I _told_ you we weren't the only ones looking to take this place over! It's too popular. We need a better spot to set up-"

"You be quiet, pine tree!" The lapras snapped before sizing Moonbrand up.

"You five, you here to set up your own camp? Turn around and go back the way you came. We got here first, and I'm not about to go tell our leaders that you-whoa!"

She craned her neck to avoid being hit by the pendulum rock. "Our leaders like this spot, so if we have to kill you over this so be it!"

The tiny aron snickered as it fired a Rock Tomb at the pendulum, sending the rock towards the Moonbrand members. Gina, Ornia, and of all pokemon, Ultima, were able to finesse their way around the attack to avoid being bludgeoned by the pendulum, but Verden and Mandy were not quite as lucky, and as it contacted both of them, they realized the true danger of the sinister device. At one time or another, some pokemon had set up a pendulum with a Rock Wrecker attack at the end of it.

As Verden and Mandy found themselves thrown into the dungeon wall, Ornia, Gina, and Ultima got ready to flank their five pokemon foes from the other side.

It seemed there would be little time to rest in this dungeon.

* * *

 **Ignia: Ember Wilds(B5F Mystery Dungeon(because they're going the other way this time)): B1F: Age of Entei, Year 1: 5th of First Month: Revenant, Part 1**

 **Moonbrand Present: Bravero, Charlie, Conlan, James, Ken, Magdalene, Semora, Xialyn**

"This place again…" Conlan shuddered as his own squad of eight made their way into the Ember Wilds. "I don't like to think about what horrors took place in these sands."

"I've read about this area" Ken looked around as they continued through the sand. "It's a favorite for the fire branch of the Sapien Triage, right?"

"Yeah, and it was pretty much my first exposure to this world's mystery dungeons. That was not a fun night at all."

The Ember Wilds had, since Conlan had last visited the dungeon, changed significantly, but not quite drastically enough that he couldn't recognize where certain events once transpired, and while one branch of the Sapien Triage had fallen here at the hands of those who would later form Moonbrand, it was all too apparent that a new branch of the same had taken their place.

"Multiply like bunnelby, these freaks do." Charlie mumbled in disgust as she stuck close to Magdalene, the youngest female present. "No reasoning with them either."

"That's why we kill them if we see them" Conlan commanded. "No mercy."

 **B1F**

After a couple minutes of walking, Bravero and Semora, who were scouting slightly ahead, stopped the party from moving forwards.

"This area is suspicious." Semora warned as everyone looked inside.

The area seemed to be an incredibly well-kept armory. Swords that looked as though they could deal as much damage as a Slash attack, armor that seemed as though it could provide the benefits of an Iron Defense, even some light siege weapons like ballistas could be found in the area.

"The Sapien Triage doesn't use weapons or armor though." Conlan thought back to the tribe he'd fought.

"Yeah, aren't they just a bunch of naked savages that only use atrafialpide to tie up victims?" James questioned, correctly.

"Heh." A greninja appeared from the shadows, as a cacturne, and three quite hungry looking pansear walked in from the opposite direction.

"Good eyes. Yes, the tribe of pansear and simisear that has taken up residence in this dungeon is not alone. They have us, and our fearless leader, to thank for their new weapons and gear. Now, we'll be killing the lot of you, eating the men, and presenting the women to Chiefs Blind, Deaf, and Mute as toy corpses."

"Well, at least none of us have to be surprised by this development" Xialyn smiled as all of Moonbrand readied to fight.

* * *

 **Ignia: Ignus Scrublands(7F Mystery Dungeon): 1F: Age of Entei, Year 1: 5th of First Month: Redclaw, Part 1**

 **Moonbrand Present: Aaron, Hex, Rudo, Wesley**

 **1F**

"Ignus Scrublands, eh?" Aaron mused as the party walked into an area with a large ditch, where a bagon, a flygon, and a sliggoo were all involved in various games that they had created with rocky rubble from around the ditch.

Wesley's eyes were immediately drawn to the pot of poke in the center of the ditch. Clearly, it was used as a betting pot.

"Hm…" He grinned.

"We don't have time to gamble, we need to get to Noironia, and Drudezdag." Rudo impatiently began to walk forwards.

"Rudo, wait-" Hex attempted to stop her, but it was too late. The ground under the riolu began to give way, and only barely was she able to hang onto the ground to keep her from falling down into the same large ditch.

However, while Rudo did not fall, the rubble from under her did, and caught the attention of the three pokemon that had been playing games.

They looked up at the party, and bared their rabid fangs.

"Savage dragons? This far north?" Hex wondered, perplexed.

"Welp, if' they're dragons and attacking us anyways…" Wesley stretched. "I say we kill them and take that money in the pot as recompense."

"A thought to keep in mind guys…" Aaron announced as he helped Rudo up to her feet and the four of them adopted battle stances "Is that if these pokemon are savage, then who was it who set up these games and the pot?"

"It appears there's a bit more going on here than in the average mystery dungeon." Rudo agreed.

* * *

 _ **AN1: I know, I know, it's so short, too short, almost unbearably short, for such a long wait, but you have to understand that I've been creating a whole fucking campaign module to follow for you guys, alright? Shit takes tons of time that I quite frankly didn't have. The good news is this: I've successfully transferred to a real Uni, and a whole buttload of extra work is now no longer necessary for me. Another plus to that long wait though...is how quickly I'll be able to get the chapters out to y'all now. Every Saturday for at least the next few months. Possibly taking a break during Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years. Don't quote me on that though. (I'm also the idiot who said Late April though, so don't quote me on anything).**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: Anyhow, the big reason it's so short should be obvious, Everyone is about to start combat (and come on, I can't just kill you guys randomly and without fair warning after all these months of silence). So, Everyone! Send in your battle strats for whichever battle your character(s) is(are) participating in!**_

 _ **HOWEVER!**_

 _ **I want to go over a small change in how this works. As you know, TAG!s can be used once, EACH, per MISSION. I'm creating a similar rule for your Alt Moves.**_

 _ **The Rule is this: During your PMs to me, label which four moves are your MAIN 4 for this mission (any combination of Alt and Regular will do), the OTHER TWO moves are in a sort of storage. You can push past your limits and used ONE of these moves ONCE per DUNGEON.**_

 _ **If you have any questions about this, I can explain it more fully in a PM, but basically, you choose your main 4 moves for the mission, then, of the two remaining moves, once per dungeon, you may elect to use one of those moves instead of your main 4 for the mission.**_

 _ **Again, if you're having trouble, I can explain more fully in a PM.**_

* * *

 _ **AN3: I've gotten many requests about and responses to certain Support scenes last chapter.**_

 _ **I'd like to, in response, direct attention to an Author's Note I left in Chapter 10 of Book 1:**_

 _Past Me: This is just an announcement: I'm stopping with the warnings before the chapters. If you're reading the story, then surely you know perfectly well by now that it can be very dark, so I see no reason for any further warnings. (and for those of you that a curious, no, I won't be announcing where the weirdly kinky stuff happens anymore either. You'll have to find it by yourselves.)_

 _ **My feelings on this matter are this: As an author, I don't enjoy when parts or chapters of my story are skipped over, whether it's because they're too lewd or not lewd enough, I've experienced it happen both ways. Allow to extend to you this warning now, perhaps a bit late, that everything I warned you about at the very beginning of book 1 WILL be in book 2, and not just in passing. Entire dungeons or missions may revolve around uncomfortable or otherwise mature themes. Characters(Not any objecting OCs, don't worry) will figuratively go through every circle of Hell. Make no mistake, this story is rated M with good reason, reason which will become ever more apparent as the main plot finally begins to progress. If you truly believe yourself unable to handle even the**_ **consensual** _ **relations in such a story, then this, unfortunately, is not the story you're looking for.**_

 _ **I HAVE been working recently on a T-rated PMD series, structured quite similarly to this one (Not plot wise, but like, mechanic wise), which I will direct those of you this applies to towards if you would like any OCs you might have to appear there instead. That is all I have to say concerning this matter. For those of you who aren't deterred by this warning though…**_

* * *

 _ **AN4: OCs! You know the drill!**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	13. Very Few Plans Survive First Contact

**Ignia: Ignus Scrublands(7F Mystery Dungeon): Age of Entei, Year 1: 5th of First Month: A Different Kind of Guild, Part 2**

 **Moonbrand Present: Gina, Mandy, Ornia, Ultima, Verden**

 **Ignus Scrublands: 1F**

Verden was the first of the pokemon to leap into action against the bandits. He looked at Mandy and let her know his plan as she stood up as well. "I'll get you where you need to go safely." He announced as he created a Substitute clone of himself to cover Mandy while the two of them moved around the battlefield.

"Right." Mandy nodded.

"Alright crew, you know the drill!" The lapras, who seemed to lead the darumaka, aron, snover, and miltank on either side of her, announced authoritatively while she put up a very clear Safeguard around their party. "Drive out the intruders, but don't hesitate to kill them if they don't plan on leaving!"

"Guess I'll throw the first shot then." Gina decided as she blew a Frost Breath towards the snover, causing the bandit to shudder in the frigid winds.

"Gah!" The snover grunted as he Ingrained himself where he was standing.

Ultima meanwhile rushed towards the darumaka with an Aqua Tail, hoping to take out the small fire type quickly, but its size proved to its advantage as he dodged the water attack with ease, and Belly Drummed to taunt the gyarados.

The Miltank, noticing that Ultima was the only pokemon within striking distance, set her sights on him as she leapt into the air for a Body Slam, which give Ultima more than enough time to slither out of the way, avoiding the bandit's attack.

Ornia gave a prayer to Tapu Lele, and while the others rolled their eyes, they did thank her for the Light Screen that she provided them.

"Lead me towards the aron!" Mandy requested of Verden as she used a Swords Dance to move forwards while they rushed across the battlefield.

Seeing both Verden and his Substitute, the aron began to panic, and let out a Roar to knock him back, but found himself unable to get his voice out, and as he attempted to let the Roar out, the Rock Wrecker pendulum came swinging back towards him, knocking him past his allies into the far wall. The poor pokemon could only just barely bring himself to his feet, clearly using the last of his strength after that blow.

Verden's attention turned towards the lapras as he flung a Seed Bomb, but the lapras easily slid across the ground to avoid coming into contact with it.

"Let's neutralize you, shall we?" She sneered before she let out a melody with a Sing attack.

Verden reflexively went for his toxic orb in order to poison himself before he could be put to sleep, but noticed too late the shattered pieces where he and Mandy had landed after being hit by the Rock Wrecker pendulum. "Arceus..damn it.." He yawned as he feel asleep.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." Gina sighed as she noticed both Verden and his substitute slumping down to the ground, asleep. "Wake up, honey!" She announced as she summoned a Blizzard in an effort to hit all the enemies at once.

She succeeded, and the frigid cold was more than enough to topple the aron down, and just barely enough to defeat the snover. Meanwhile, however, the lapras, miltank, and darumaka were all perfectly content to continue fighting.

Ultima was all too happy to take another crack at the darumaka, but as he rose his Aqual Tail, he accidentally came into contact with the pendulum, halting his attack and shifting the trap's trajectory, as it rushed passed Verden and obliterated his substitute, leaving Mandy virtually unguarded.

"Hah!" The darumaka laughed as he charged towards Ultima with a Headbutt, however, he jumped the gun a little too quickly and ran into a still powered Aqua Tail, killing himself in the process.

The miltank headed over to Verden's sleeping body, as with one of her hooves, attempted to Wake Up Slap him, but instead was blocked by snapping jaw on Mandy's head.

Ornia summoned up a javelin shaped rock and quickly hurled her Rock Throw at the lapras. "This is for my comrades!" She announced as the attack bludgeoned the lapras's front left flipper.

"You little-" The lapras sneered while Mandy, sensing opportunity, ran toward the miltank with an Iron Head, slamming into the normal type and causing her to stumble backwards, flinching.

As Mandy turned to encourage Ornia and Gina to attack the miltank, she looked on in horror as both of them took the full force of the Rock Wrecker pendulum.

Ornia was knocked back into the far wall, unconscious.

Gina was knocked clean unconscious as well, even more bruised than Ornia appeared.

"Verden, we _really_ need you right now!" She pleaded.

And, as if by a miracle, Verden's eyes shot open.

He took notice of Gina and Ornia, as well as notice of the pendulum.

He turned to Ultima and Mandy. "Go stabilize those two! I'll deal with these two while you do!" He lobbed a Seed Bomb at the lapras, scoring a hit just on her cranium, doing what appeared to be just _barely_ enough damage to incapacitate her.

Ultima quickly slithered to Ornia, the closest unconscious pokemon, and made sure she was stable, and not about to die.

Meanwhile, Mandy left to go stabilize Gina in the same way, taking advantage of the miltank's flinching.

Verden faced the miltank, cracking his neck around. "Well, it looks like this is the end." He fired a Seed Bomb, point blank range.

The miltank was no more.

"They're both safe for now." Ultima said as Many handed Verden Gina to carry to the next floor while Ultima carried Ornia on his back.

"We should probably rest up once we get out of here." Verden decided. "That rock looks like it could drop at any time."

"Definitely don't want to be there when that happens." Mandy agreed, picking up a rawst berry that the miltank had dropped as the three of them moved on to the next floor.

"You...don't know...what you're...getting into…" The lapras gasped out in her final breaths.

"The...Bronze Mothims...they're worse...than us common bandits...They won't just kill you...They'll...destroy...you…"

* * *

 **Ignia: Ember Wilds(B5F Mystery Dungeon(because they're going the other way this time)): Age of Entei, Year 1: 5th of First Month: Revenant, Part 2**

 **Moonbrand Present: Bravero, Charlie, Conlan, James, Ken, Magdalene, Semora, Xialyn**

 **B1F**

Bravero rushed into the fray and rocketed his fist into pansear with a poison jab, clearly poisoning the monkey immediately.

Semora quickly joined the action, using Acrobatics to jump around the area before slamming herself into the cacturne, causing him to stagger slightly backwards.

Magdalene, taking note of the greninja as the true biggest threat in the room, fired off a Hypnosis from her eyes, which the greninja jumped out of the way to dodge.

Charlie shot a Flamethrower towards the cacturne in an effort to simply get rid of an obstacle before he could do too much damage.

The cacturne shrieked in agony as the flames engulfed him, but he didn't fall, and kept his ground as the pansears rushed Bravero, each one ready with Fury Swipes.

The first two pansear managed to cover Bravero in a multitude of stinging Fury Swipes scratches and cuts, while the final pansear, succumbed to poison before he could land an attack on the blaziken.

The greninja disappeared and quickly appeared again near James, slamming the haunter with a Feint Attack, dishing out a fair amount of pain to the surprised Haunter.

The cacturne, for his part, shot a Pin Missile towards Ken, hitting the kirlia with a good three spikes, each one scraping his skin.

Ken's response was to make full use of his Telekinesis. Using his powers, he took various armor parts from around the armory and donned them onto Bravero, providing his teammate with the essential benefits of an Iron Armor move.

"Nice…" Bravero said as he moved around in his makeshift armor. "This'll be fun."

Conlan shot a Fire Spin towards the cacturne in an effort to finally be rid of him, but found his attack going wide.

Xialyn set up a Reflect upon the party to help them with such physical opponents.

James took a hint from Magdalene and fired his own Hypnosis at the greninja, who once again jumped out of the way.

The greninja disappeared into the shadows, and jumped out of them to attack Ken, who managed to react almost instinctively as he practically danced out of the greninja's way, clearing the path for Conlan's Mach Punch on the water/dark type, hitting him square in the face.

Bravero turned to the two remaining pansear, and rushed towards the closest one with a Sky Uppercut that missed as the monkey jumped over the blaziken and away from the attack.

Semora turned to flank the greninja with a Leaf Blade as Conlan kept the frog busy, slashing the cretin along his backside.

Magdalene shot a Flamethrower at the cacturne, to finally get them out of the way, only for the cacturne's Spiky Shield to save him from a fiery grave.

Noticing that the greninja seemed to be giving everyone the most trouble, Charlie shot a Hidden Power towards him, pelting the greninja with small orbs of light that conveyed the scent of a lush meadow.

"Gahh, dammit!" He hissed as his stance started to waver.

The two remaining pansear, noticing their brother on the ground, flew into a ravenous frenzy and managed to slash all of Bravero's armor clean off before hitting each of his pressure points and forcing him to the ground, unconscious.

Ken, noticing this, quickly Teleported to Bravero's unconscious body and stabilized the blaziken before turning his attention to the pansear minions.

"You like bipedal, feminine looking pokemon right?" He made sure to get the attention of both monkeys. "Why don't you dance with me for a while instead of him, alright?"

Xialyn rushed to aid her friends in taking down the greninja with a Poison Jab of her own, connecting with his chest and sending poison throughout his body, all while she snickered to herself.

James's second Hypnosis, aimed towards the cacturne, also failed as the pokemon maneuvered his Spiky Shield to block that attack as well.

The greninja jumped up and tossed Water Shurikens straight at Conlan who managed to roll and flip, doding each of the five of them, and returned the favor by jumping up towards the greninja with a Mach Punch, which he also managed to avoid as the two came back down to the ground.

Semora was waiting, and slammed her Leaf Blade straight through the small of the greninja's back, before he slumped onto the dungeon floor.

Magdalene shot another Flamethrower at the cacturne, ready to be done with this entire fight, and as the flames came into contact with the villain, his green skin singed away leaving nothing but a pile of ash and charred bones.

Charlie, noting that only the pansears were left to attack the team, quickly Dug a hole to ambush one of them.

Both pansears, now paying attention to Ken, rushed at him each with a Lick attack, each one hit in succession and as they took a stance on either side of Ken, the kirlia found himself paralyzed, unable to do anything, even stabilize his companion.

Xialyn rushed towards the nearest pansear with a Poison Jab, only to have her attack dodged by the nimble monkey.

James fired off a third Hypnosis, and this time, it found its mark in the pansear that Xialyn had attempted to hit. The small red monkey fell to the ground and began to snooze.

Semora, noticing the proximity of the two pansear, called forth a Rock Slide with such force that all of Moonbrand could hear the crushing of flesh and crunching of bones.

"Well, let's move on then after a short rest, shall we?" Conlan suggested as Semora stabilized Bravero while James and Magdalene made sure Ken recovered from his paralysis unhindered.

* * *

 **B2F**

After Ken had healed up the party with Heal Pulse, they continued into the main area of the next floor of the dungeon. Conlan's, Charlie's, Magdalene's, and Ken's eyes all lit up as they noticed the gargantuan library that seemed to occupy the entire floor.

"That's a _lot_ of books." James observed. "Think any of them are good reads?"

Magdalene, Conlan, James, Ken, and Xialyn all took various untitled books from the shelves.

"No title, eh? Think it's just kindling for the fires for these guys or something?" Magdalene wondered.

"The pages look like they were once soaked with water." Ken observed.

"Well, nothing ventured nothing gained." Xialyn shrugged as she opened the book in her hands.

The others followed suit and did the same.

"It's just a picture in mine." Conlan announced.

"Mine too." Ken confirmed.

"Mine too." James chimed in.

Soon, everyone realized it was all the same book, copied over numerous times. The picture itself was pleasant enough. Noble looking pokemon gathered around a table with a stuffed grumpig on a platter, each of them making merriment as servants poured berry juice.

As Conlan turned the page, he noticed the exact same scene, but fallen into depravity. The nobles were fighting with each other, partaking in carnal encounters on the banquet table, or sprawling on the floor in puddles of vomit.

"This is absolutely disgusting." Magdalene decided to put the book back on the shelf, as did James. They had both had enough of that. Conlan, Ken, and Xialyn all looked at each other. There were at least two more thick pages to the book.

With a small nod from Conlan, each turned the page another time, and both Conlan and Ken immediately wished they hadn't.

A scene of horror confronted them, noble pokemon feasting on their own servants, eating each other alive, and destroying the hall with their pokemon moves. The grumpig was alive and laughing on its platter as a simisage, simisear, and simipour engaged in necrotic activities under the table.

This spooked Conlan and Ken to the point that they began to rush through the library towards the stairs.

Xialyn, on the other hand, was not so disturbed.

"Ah, I see," She mused mainly to herself as she turned the page one last time before setting the book back on the shelf. "So that's how they drive themselves insane. Interesting...Good thing those two put those books down when they did."

"We should probably catch up with Conlan." Magdalene suggested as the rest of the team agreed. Conlan and Ken by themselves, in a dungeon like this, probably wasn't the best idea.

* * *

 **B3F**

As the rest of Moonbrand found their way into a large dining room, clearly used by the smell for "intimate" gatherings or informal meals, their suspicions were confirmed as they saw Conlan as well as Ken surrounded by four pansear, and four simisear.

"Ah!" A Ludicolo turned to face the rest of the team. "It appears the rest of you are here! Please, join us all for dinner! These hungry monkeys would _love_ to eat you all as the main course. Meanwhile, we can ransom these two to the Fable King for enough money to fund my master's grand plan!"

* * *

 **Ignia: Ignus Scrublands(7F Mystery Dungeon): Age of Entei, Year 1: 5th of First Month: Redclaw, Part 2**

 **Moonbrand Present: Aaron, Hex, Rudo, Wesley**

 **1F**

Aaron slid down into the ditch, and quickly set up an Iron Head for the sliggoo, so quickly in fact that he instead tumbled down the ditch, scraping and bruising himself in the process, and angering the savage pokemon present.

The flygon's response to this was to shoot a Dragonbreath at Aaron, which somehow missed, likely because the steel type was still rolling around in the dirt.

The sliggoo, on the other hand, began to tense itself up with a Bide.

Rudo slid down the ditch as well, towards the bagon, in an effort to distract at least one of the savage dragons away from Aaron. "Hyah!" She shouted as she thrust a Force Palm towards the small dragon as it dodged out of the way.

The bagon retaliated with a Zen Headbutt, knocking Rudo quite a ways back. This was normally enough force to make a pokemon flinch, but thankfully, Rudo never had to worry about flinching owing to her Inner Focus. Hex joined her teammates in the ditch as she charged the flygon, clearly the most powerful of the savages, with a Dragon Claw attack, which the savage pokemon fluttered around to dodge easily.

Wesley, taking note of the fight that was going on, hid behind the lip of the large ditch.

Aaron struggled up onto his feet and once again rushed towards the Sliggoo with an Iron Tail this time, hitting the gooey dragon with what felt like the force of two Iron Tails, sending it far out of the dungeon.

The flygon was now preoccupied with Hex, and in an effort to neutralize the dragon type, fired a Supersonic attack in her direction, which Hex just barely managed to avoid.

Rudo decided to take a page out of the flygon's book and used Copycat to mimic the Supersonic, aiming it at the bagon, hitting the target point blank.

The confused bagon lunged, ferociously, into the flygon with another Zen Headbutt, grazing the wing of the other savage pokemon.

Hex once again charged the flygon with a Dragon Claw which was once again dodged by her savage pokemon opponent.

Wesley, meanwhile, began creating a Double Team to come join the fight if it continued to go on while he could use Hone Claws in peace.

"Where is our fourth?" Aaron wondered as he swung an Iron Tail towards the bagon who disorderly dodged the swing, still clearly incredibly confused.

The flygon hissed at the closest hostile pokemon to it, Hex, and slashed at her with a Dragon Claw of its own, giving the haxorus a small gash.

Rudo grinned mischievously as she made use of Copycat again to this time mimic Dragon Claw as she rushed towards the bagon, this time hitting the savage pokemon where it really hurt. As the poor confused bagon attempted to retaliate once again, it ended up attacking itself with its own Double-Edge, and sprawled out, defeated, on the floor, leaving only the flygon left.

Hex, getting somewhat impatient, continued her Dragon Claw assault on the flygon, this time managing to land a good hit in.

Aaron, noticing the flygon was the only opponent left, ran around to flank it from behind, and slammed an Iron Head into its backside, causing the pokemon to wail out in tremendous pain.

"Uh-oh." Hex realized. "If the two of you can get close to me do it! If you can't, get out of the ditch!"

Rudo rushed out of the ditch, and while Aaron tried to get as close to Hex as possible, the flygon let loose an Earthquake before he could reach her.

Rudo had escaped the area of effect, and Hex had managed to set up a Protect, but Aaron had no such moves at his disposal, and as he was shaken along with most of the ground, he collapsed, no longer able to keep conscious.

It was then that Wesley stealthily appeared from the other side of the ditch, and silently, sent an Icicle Crash in the flygon's direction.

Like a spear from the heavens, the attack pierced through the flygon's heart, and the final savage dragon fell to the ground beside Aaron.

"Hey, grab the pot of money, stabilize your boyfriend, and let's go!" He called to Hex. "Don't want to keep Rudo waiting on us! She's already by the stairs!"

* * *

 **2F**

"This is a really weird floor, don't you think?" a recently conscious again Aaron suggested as the group, including a now 154 poke richer Hex, made their way around.  
"Yeah." Rudo agreed. "It's almost as if this floor is nothing but hallway."

"Because someone forced it to look this way." Wesley explained.

"Why would they do that, though?" Rudo wondered even as she tripped the hidden wire that brought the walls down, letting the Toxic and Venoshock acids being contained behind them flood the area."

"FUCK!" Hex yelled. "We need to get to the next floor _NOW_!"

"W-what the hell?" Aaron wondered as they continued to run through the treacherous poison floor. "Why is it hurting me, too?"

"Corrosion." Rudo realized. "Either a salazzle set it up, or a salazzle provided the poison. Either way, this trap is dangerous. We need to get out of here!"

The party continued to trudge through the sludge, and disaster struck.

Aaron once again lost consciousness.

With the rest of the party too focused on dashing through the floor to stabilize him, he would have to fight off death on his own as he was carried jointly by the rest of the group.

"I can see the stairs!" Rudo announced as the stairs came into view.

Aaron could feel his grip on life weakening.

Wesley, Hex, and Rudo were each clearly at the end of their energies as well.

Only just barely were they able to escape to the next floor.

* * *

 **3F**

Whatever the floor was before was irrelevant, as now, on the third floor of the Ignus Scrublands, there lay a very clear, plain as day, shrine to Yveltal, the god of destruction and grief.

Sitting in front of that shrine, an incineroar gave a sermon to a shiftry, a tyranitar, a krokorok, and a skuntank.

Thankfully the pokemon seemed to be too engulfed in their sermon and worship to notice the Moonbrand members.

The group of four took the opportunity to hide in an alcove of the floor for a needed long rest.

When they awoke the next day, they were confined in cages.

"Ah." The incineroar smiled as they all awoke. "Hello, intruders! Sorry about the cages, just a precaution. I humbly ask that you allow us to send you back the way you came. Redclaw is loose, you see, and he's a dangerous one. We're asking Yveltal what we should do with him, but we haven't an answer yet."

"No, we're going through this dungeon." Rudo remained adamant. "I know my friends cleared it out for us a few hours ago."

"Ah, so that was them." The incineroar nodded as he folded his arms. "My name is Irvine, by the way. I tell you what then, should you four help us with Redclaw, we can escort you to wherever you're going."

"Noironia." Rudo grunted. "And I know the way already. Just let us out of these cages."

"Fine, fine, no need to throw a fit about it."

Irvine bent down towards Rudo's caged and reached his hands out.

They went past the lock and into the cage itself, beginning to strangle her neck.

"Listen, you little cunt!" Irvine snapped. "There's a powerful-ass pokemon that's dominating this dungeon and _you're_ gonna kill it, or _I_ am going to kill _you_! Capiche?"

"G-...got it…" Rudo choked out before Irvine finally let her go.

The marks of his claws around her neck were still bright red, so she brought her mercenary scarf up further to hide them.

"Good." Irvine grinned. "We have an understanding. Let them out, lackeys. They know they can't attack me in our holy hall, where I know all its tricks."

"The fuck we can!" Rudo announced almost immediately as she lunged at Irvine with a Force Palm as soon as all four of Moonbrand was free. "Come on guys, let's deal with these overzealous nutjobs!"

* * *

 **Ignia: Ignus Scrublands(7F Mystery Dungeon): Age of Entei, Year 1: 6th of First Month: A Different Kind of Guild, Part 2.5**

 **Moonbrand Present: Gina, Mandy, Ornia, Ultima, Verden**

 **Ignus Scrublands: 3F**

Just a few hours prior to Redclaw's arrival, two pokemon called this floor their home, a grumpig and a wobbuffet. The room itself was a sort of testing grounds, where certain riddles or puzzles were solved to bypass deadly traps and monsters.

As Ornia, Mandy, Ultima, Verden, and Gina arrived, the grumpig and wobbuffet stood at attention.

The grumpig spoke up. "So, we've got more hopefuls, eh? Well, not just anyone is allowed in, mind you. There's a test first.

See those four posts in the center of this room? Each has a button on top of it, but only one of them opens up the secret compartment containing the key to the stairs. The others call down some of our enforcers and we'll know you're intruders. Also, if you attack us, we'll _for sure_ press down those buttons to summon our enforcers, so don't think about trying to force your way out of this puzzle. You'll do this one at a time…"

A giant wall rose up, separating Ornia from the other four.

"Without help from each other." The grumpig finished with a sneer.

"Go ahead, you ought to know the correct answer already if you pay close attention."

Ornia looked at each post, and noticed that above each of their buttons was a design.

The north post had what looked like the design of a leaf on it. The east post had what appeared to be a pile of sand, or perhaps dirt, as a design. The south post had a design that Ornia wasn't quite sure about, though she made sure to hide that fact. It either resembled eyes, or maybe some kind of strange wings. Finally, on the west post was a design that Ornia could only describe as a whole bunch of junk.

After Ornia had pressed a button, each of the other members went in, alone, noticing no sign of the other members. No one knew whether their companions had gotten the puzzle correct, or had ended up having to fight these "enforcers" or been completely devoured some other way.

All they could do was hope for the best.

* * *

 _ **AN: Okay, Ornia's crew, simple: from you guys, I need which post's button you intend to press (There is a correct answer, and even if you press the wrong one, surviving whatever fight ensues will get you past this as well). Just read the chapter carefully and you guys should be fine.**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: Conlan's crew, four simisear, four pansear, one ludicolo. Conlan and Ken are surrounded by the 'sears, the rest of the crew is on the far side of the room from the ludicolo, who is behind the circle of pansear and simisear. I'd like battle strategies from you once again.**_

* * *

 _ **AN3: Rudo's crew, battle strats for you guys too. You've got Irvine the incineroar, a shiftry, a tyranitar, a krokorok, and a skuntank. Remember, you are in a room with a dedicated shrine to Yveltal in it right now. Think about what moves might do more or less damage because of that.**_

* * *

 _ **AN4: The aforementioned T-rated series, The Ebonor Edda, has officially been posted. Go check out Book 1: The Mantle of Bones, if you want to be involved in another story like this one.**_

* * *

 _ **AN5: OCs!**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	14. Desert Rrrrrrrrumble!

**Fairy Province: Lliirasune: Feyview Castle: Age of Mew(Waning), Year 656: The Fairy's Request**

"I see…" the primarina named Paulo sighed as Concordia, the clefable advisor to his wife, queen Deirdre of Fable, explained what had transpired at the Wildeburn Summit. "I wish I could have been there to see Reshiram speak, myself, but if we're to win this war with our neighbors that way, we'll need outside help. I'm not so sure that human and his ragtag band, as charming as they are, can be that much help."

"It's not just about the aid they've promised us, my Lord." Concordia didn't dare get up from her kneeling position in front of the Moonmirror Throne that King Paulo rested on. "I know you've been curious about this human for a while, and bringing him here seemed like less of a hassle than finding a way to get your wife some diplomacy skills while remaining over there."

"Yes, I imagine she would complain about the heat and dirt, much like the girls" Paulo laughed at the thought of his diancie wife out in the desert, complaining Concordia's ear off. "At any rate, are you absolutely positive this is a good idea? I know my share of tales, myths, and legends, Concordia. Inviting that particular human seems a large gamble on the part of our nation. I'm not opposed to the idea, but I'd rather designate my _own_ terms for the visit."

"Fine." Concordia rolled her eyes. "You've read too many plays in your youth, my Lord. Not every action taken by a servant is some plot."  
"That may be, but I trust only those I have reason to." Paulo smiled at the clefable. "And I don't know what might have been done to you while you were away at Stoneshear, under that crone Aerona's eye. Just a precaution against her, you see."

"I understand, my Lord." Concordia gave an unsatisfied sigh.

"You may take your leave, Concordia, and fetch Alex."

As Concordia left, and alakazam walked into the room.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" She asked, with a smile and a quick bow. "Are we heading into town to watch a street performance from your old troupe again?"  
"No." Paulo shook his head with a laugh.

"Are we inquiring about the showings in the amphitheater for the next time you want to take your wife out on a date again?"

"Not at the moment." Paulo laughed again. "I'm about to write a letter requesting the assistance of the monferno I'd told you about earlier. As the letter travels to Lightgrasp in Ignia, you will travel as well, in spurts, via Teleport. You are to intercept the monferno and his allies on their way here, and aid them on the rest of their journey."  
"But, what about you? Will you be alright without my protection?" Alex asked the king, worried for his safety.

Paulo laughed again. "Alex, you may be strong and beautiful, but you're still just a young woman. Thanks to the lineage of my wife's family, and the many dynasties before them, there is no shortage of pokemon who seek the Fable Royal Family destroyed. I didn't die before I took you in, and I won't die sending you to help guide this small band of pokemon back to me."

"Awww…!" A shiny primarina around Alex's age pouted from the doorway. "Alex gets to go sightseeing in Ignia too?! First Mommy, then Mizuko and Cailyn, now Pari, and even Alex is going! What about me?"

"Oribel, what did I say about listening in on Daddy?" Paulo chastised his daughter.

"That it's unbecoming of a princess of Fable…" Oribel sighed as she repeated something Paulo told her quite often, before regaining her defiant posture. "But still! I deserve to head out as much as everyone else, maybe even more! Look at this flowing blonde hair that's being kept hidden from the world!"

"Oribel, if I allow you to stay in the Himmelskt capital, under the care of The Merchant King, will you promise to actually prepare to receive Alex and the Moonbrand members instead of once again spending all the funds on shopping?"

"T-that was years ago!" Oribel defended her past actions. "And of course I do! I'll head there right away! Come on, Alex!"

King Paulo mouthed an "I'm sorry" to Alex as Oribel danced out the doors. Alex gave a wave of her hand as if to say "Don't mention it" and once Paulo had finished his letter and handed it to an oricorio messenger, Alex left as well.

* * *

 **Ignia: Ember Wilds(B5F Mystery Dungeon(because they're going the other way this time)): Age of Entei, Year 1: 5th of First Month: Revenant, Part 3**

 **B3F**

"Conlan!" Ken held out a hand to his leader and cocked his head towards the arriving Moonbrand members. Conlan took stock of the simisear and pansear that surrounded him and shook his head.

"You go. I'll be fine."

Ken wasn't sure, but nodded anyways and quickly Teleported to where the rest of his team had entered the dining room. "That ludicolo was commanding them earlier!" He let the rest of the team know.

Magdalene nodded and stepped forwards, shooting a Hypnosis at the ludicolo behind the simisear and pansear surrounding Conlan, though the move seemed to fizzle out before it could quite reach its target.

"You four!" The ludicolo addressed the pansear. "Go disrupt them up there! The four of you!" He turned to the simisear "Help me with this trouble-maker!" He announced as he attempted to attack Conlan with an Astonish, only to have his wrist caught by the monferno, preventing him from getting a good hit in.

"You were saying?" Conlan asked with a grin as Charlie began to Dig through the ground while he used Acrobatics in an attempt to send the Ludicolo flying but only resulted in him just gently shoving the ludicolo away from him.

Semora turned her attention to the four pansear that had broken away from Conlan and let loose a Rock Slide, which each of the monkeys dodged without effort.

James floated closer towards the ludicolo and fired off his own Hypnosis, which the ludicolo managed to avoid without much trouble.

The four simisear circled around Conlan, before each one lunged in with its own Fury Swipes attack, the first simisear managing to scratch up Conlan pretty good. The next two simisear attempted to attack the same spot on Conlan's body, and got into a brawl with each other, eventually leading to their mutual demise. The final simisear's attacks were thankfully easily dodged.

The pansear similarly took action, each one shooting a Flame Burst. The first pansear took aim at Xialyn, hitting the weavile directly, as Bravero found some of the excess flames singing his feathers.

The second pansear's Flame Burst headed towards James, which the haunter managed to just barely dodge.

The third pansear's attack hit Magdalene dead on, though she revelled in the flames, feeling more powerful then ever owing to Flash Fire.

The final pansear spewed a Flame Burst to where he had seen Charlie only moments ago, to no avail, as she was already under the ground, safe from the flames.

"Hey!" An alakazam woman teleported into the room beside Bravero. "Moonbrand?"

"You want him." Bravero quickly pointed towards Conlan before rushing in the direction of the nearest simisear with a Sky Uppercut, only for the monkey to almost drunkenly move out of striking range just before contact.

"Gahh!" Xialyn was busy crouching in pain from her direct Flame Burst wound. "Someone get rid of those monkeys before they become as troublesome as they were on the first floor!" She requested as she set up a Reflect.

Conlan rushed the simisear directly in front of him with a Mach Punch, only to have his attack dodged almost instinctively.

Ken sighed as he found a good spot for his voice to echo and sang out a Disarming Voice melody to the hostile pokemon in the area, at which each pokemon reeled in a small amount of psychological pain before slowly relaxing their muscles.

Magdalene once again fired a Hypnosis at the ludicolo, which the pokemon seemed to have the hang of dodging.

The ludicolo noticed Bravero closing the gap between himself and Conlan, and quickly let out a Growl, the ear-splitting noise causing both fire/fighting types to attack with less than average force.

Charlie quickly uprooted herself from the ground, using her Dig to get the jump on the simisear Conlan had been distracting, but once again the triage cretin proved elusive and flipped away from the impending danger.

Semora once again hurled a Rock Slide at the four pansear, all bundled together, and buried them easily under the rubble. They wouldn't be a threat to anyone anymore.

James, noticing Magdalene's Hypnosis attempts, decided to take a different route when attacking the ludicolo, a pile of sludge manifested in his hand and he chucked it at the water/grass type. "Sludge Bomb in the hole!" He announced as the poison drenched the ludicolo, causing him to hack up bits of goop.

The simisear, now with a female pokemon to turn their attention towards, rushed Charlie with their Fury Swipes. Charlie managed to avoid the first one easily, backstepping as he took each swing, unfortunately, she ended up backstepping right into the attacks of the second one, and found her back slashed repeatedly by the monkey.

The alakazam took stock of Team Moonbrand, and decided the ludicolo to be the biggest threat to their safety. She crossed her legs as she began to meditate in the air, amassing an ever growing amount of spoons as she mega-evolved.

"Moonbrand, we must speak after these heathens are dealt with!" She announced as she charged up a Focus Blast and fired it at the ludicolo, which the pokemon dodged forcing the attack to hit the table instead. The table in question was immediately crushed into smithereens.

"Understood!" Conlan called as Bravero managed to knock the life out of a simisear that he, Conlan, and Charlie were flanking.

"I'll freeze you as a specimen of interest." Xialyn decided as she approached the ludicolo and fired an Ice Punch that the pokemon dodged.

Ken continued his Disarming Voice performance, dealing minimal damage to both the ludicolo and the one remaining simisear.

Magdalene inched ever closer to the ludicolo and once again attempted to fire off her Hypnosis, this time with such speed the ludicolo had no hope of avoiding her gaze, lulling him into a deep sleep.

"I'll deal with the monkey!" Charlie announced to Conlan. "You get rid of that ludicolo!" She suggested as she once again dug under the ground.

Conlan agreed and shot a Fire Spin at the sleeping pokemon, just barely managing to wrap the rather far away foe in a vortex of flames, that slowly chipped away at his fur and foliage.

Sensing opportunity, Semora leapt into the air and descended down with an Acrobatics, landing directly on top of the out of place pokemon before jumping off of him.

James tossed another Sludge Bomb at the sleeper, and the crowd of Moonbrand and the mega-alakazam watched as the ludicolo dissolved in the acids.

"Gross." Ken shuddered.

The lone simisear that remain had no idea what to do, but knew that Conlan was the closest one to him and lunged with a Fury Swipes, hitting the monferno with two well-placed scratches.

"Enough of this." the alakazam flung a Psycho Cut at the simisear, taking its head off with pure force.

"Moonbrand, I've been searching for you."

"Who are you?" Conlan asked. "If you want a mission from us, I'm afraid we're a bit busy heading to Fable at the moment."  
"That's why I'm here." The alakazam reverted back to her normal form. "My name is Alex, I'm a knight in the direct service of King Paulo. He sent me to make sure you arrived to him safely."

"What's a pure psychic type doing in Fable's royal court?" Semora crossed her arms with skepticism.

"Well," Ken was readily available to answer. "The native fairy types of Fable detest things like war, shows of might, and mercenary work, but they do have an admiration of beauty. Chances are King Paulo liked the look of Alex here and gave her a "job" as a guard."

"OH, no nothing of the sort!" Alex laughed. "I earned my right to guard King Paulo. It was one of his daughters who originally brought me to Lliirasune with her. You'll meet her eventually, I promise you. For now though, let's set up camp for the night the next floor down."

"But first let's loot this place of cash!" James cheered as he picked up a whole bunch of loose poke and handed 105 coins to each Moonbrand member, as well as Alex.

"Yeah!" Ken gave the haunter a high-five in spirit since James's gaseous hand passed through Ken's corporeal one.

* * *

 **Ignia: Ignus Scrublands(7F Mystery Dungeon): Age of Entei, Year 1: 6th of First Month: A Different Kind of Guild, Part 3**

 **Moonbrand Present: Gina, Mandy, Ornia, Ultima, Verden**

 **3F**

Ultima was the first pokemon to enter the sealed off room of the floor, and as the grumpig and wobbuffet both watched him intensely, he pressed down on the southern post, displaying what he was pretty sure were a set of wings.

The grumpig and wobbuffet looked at each other and grunted. "Lucky guess." The revealed as they allowed Ultima through.

Verden was the next pokemon to enter, and Gina and Mandy were close to the door, ready to break in at a moment's notice, which it turned out they had to do when Verden pressed the sand post's button to the east, and ten sand cloak wormadam came falling down from above.

"Verden!" Gina shouted as she and Mandy barged in after hearing the noise of the initial ambush.

"Dammi!" The grumpig shouted as he looked over at the wobbuffet who returned the look before he turned to face the three remaining Moonbrand members. "What did we say breaking the rules?!"  
"Gina, Mandy!" Verden exclaimed. "Be ready for a tough fight!"

Gina was the first pokemon to act and immediately let loose with a Blizzard, unfortunately, in her haste, she forgot to take into account her teammates before her, and accidentally hit them instead of her desired targets. Thankfully, neither one of them took much damage, but Gina herself collapsed to the ground, exhausted from the energy she'd just used up.

"What a fucking bitch! She was trying to kill us all with that blizzard!" The grumpig complained to the wobbuffet before hurling a Power Gem towards the prone Gina, though he thankfully misjudged the distance and the attack went flying past her into the dungeon wall.

The ten wormadam all ganged up on Verden, the pokemon who had released them from their chamber, each with a Flail attack of her own. Verden managed to dodge half the attacks, but found himself bashed by four of the wormadam, and the final one slammed herself into him, knocking him to the ground.

Verden quickly stood back up again, and let loose a Spore attack out of desperation, managing to put three of the wormadam quickly to sleep.

Mandy looked up at the grumpig with pleading eyes as she gave her Attract attack.

"P-please...these are my adopted parents, we just need to go through!" She lied as she twiddled with her black strands of hair. "I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement, right?"

"I've dealt with Attract, before kid." The grumpig shook his head. "And you aren't fooling anyone with those purple scarves."

Gina began to visibly gasp for air, unable to get up in the heat.

The grumpig once again shot a Power Gem towards Gina but once again missed the eeveelution.

All eight awake wormadam began to Quiver Dance around each other as they sped up.

Verden took the opportunity to shoot a Spore at the grumpig. "Stop picking a fight with my future wife!"

The spore hit the grumpig square on the head and the pig fell to the ground asleep.

"Mister wobbuffet?" Mandy decided she might as well attempt to work magic on the other bandit. "You'll make an exception for us won't you?"

"You're a little cutie, sure!" The wobbuffet smiled, infatuated with the mawile before him. "I'll open the door but you'll have to hurry through before that mean ol' grumpig wakes up!"

Gina's body began to calm down a bit.

Verden quickly rushed over to Gina and picked her up.

The grumpig began to turn in his sleep.

Mandy ran through the door as fast as she could.

Verden managed to get halfway to the door, and the grumpig yawned as he woke back up.

Verden felt a forceful shove push him through the door, he quickly tumbled to catch his feet and looked back.

"Gina!"

His wife lay on the ground just inside the door, motionless.

A Power Gem embedded in her backside.

"Why?!" Verden rushed up to her as the door closed before the wormadam or grumpig could continue fighting.

Gina couldn't respond. Her body had lost nearly all signs of life.

The sole exception was the pokemon egg she had been hiding the whole dungeon.

"N-no…" Mandy began to tear up as Verden held his fiancee for the last time, and picked up the egg for the first.

 **4F**

Mandy and Verden met up with Ornia and Ultima as the two looked over a strange floating artifact in the middle of the room.

"Ah, there they-" Ultima stopped when he noticed the state of Verden, mandy's bloodshot eyes from crying, and Gina's absence. "Oh."

"This...is a sad day." Ornia sighed. "May Tapu Lele see our dear departed's soul off-"

"Oh, Tapu Lele be damned!" Verden snapped as he continued onwards. "Fiddle around here with whatever and let's _go_ already."

"Y-yeah, what is that?" Mandy wondered through nervous whimpers as the rest of the group crowded around the artifact while Verden made sure the egg was kept as safe as possible.

"I haven't the foggiest." Ornia admitted. "It's certainly no art piece, that's for certain."

"You think it's important to the guys who put it here?" Ultima wondered.

As the three of them looked on eagerly, the trap let loose a barrage of Effect Spores, Ornia and Ultima both found themselves badly poisoned, while Mandy suffered the effects of a paralysis.

The former two both rushed up to the next floor, even as it was clear that the poison from the spores had whittled away most of their health.

Mandy stood paralyzed for a while longer, before finally regaining her composure and walking up to Verden, who sighed, and followed Mandy up to the next floor.

 **5F**

The group once again found themselves in a clear puzzle room.

"You stand before the second test of the Bronze Mothims" A granbull grunted from a game he was playing with a sawk, a klinklang, and a cinccino. "Only open one of the doors before you at a time. If you are truly one of us, you'll find the stairs to the penultimate floor of the dungeon. If you are naught but imposters you'll have to deal with a relic of the passed, sealed away as we conquered the area. Also, if you try to cheat your way through this, we'll murder the lot of you. We mean it."

"They definitely mean it." Verden clenched what he as a breloom could make of a fist as Ornia, Ultima, and Mandy looked over the doors.

They were all made of different materials. The first door was iron, the next of copper, the third a bronze alloy, the fourth of silver, the fifth of gold, the sixth and final of platinum.

"One door at a time. As mission leader, I'll take suggestions from the party as you shout them out." Ornia decided. "Now then, which shall we open first?"

* * *

 **Ignia: Ignus Scrublands(7F Mystery Dungeon): Age of Entei, Year 1: 6th of First Month: Redclaw, Part 3**

 **3F**

Wesley quickly hid himself in the shadows of the dark temple room.

The skuntank noticed Moonbrand ready to fight the cultists, and she turned to face the shiftry.

She let loose Flamethrower illuminating the area as the shiftry suffered from the massive burn and fire damage she'd inflicted upon him without warning.

Hex and Aaron crowded together as Hex used the Protect part of a team move they'd discovered during one of their sparring matches, shielding both herself and her ally from damage.

Rudo rushed at the tyranitar with a Force Palm, knocking the gigantic pokemon backwards with force he didn't expect.

"The hell are you doing?" Irvine snarled at the skuntank as he rushed towards Rudo with a Cross Chop, flanking her from the other side of the tyranitar and hitting pressure points all along Rudo's backside judging by the way she wailed out in agony as his attack collided with her.

The shiftry winced as he felt the lingering pain from the burn that the skuntank had inflicted on him. Without stating a word, he backed as far away from the skuntank as he possibly could, looking out over all of Moonbrand present as he thought up a Nasty Plot, preparing his next move.

The Sand Tomb heading towards Aaron courtesy of the krokorok was blocked handily by Hex's Protect shield.

"Gahh!" The tyranitar shouted as he slammed down towards Rudo with a Giga Impact, forcing the riolu into the far wall.

"Oh shit." Aaron realized. "Something bad for _all_ of us is about to happen here. Don't blame me for this guys!" He let loose his Earthquake portion of his and Hex's team attack, "Rupture Rapture!" They both announced as a quake began to shake the entire room. Wesley, the ever quick thinker, jumped onto the Yveltal shrine and stuck his sharp claws in the ceiling. The skuntank also managed to avoid the onslaught by hurriedly rushing up the stairs to the next floor of the dungeon.

Even the tyranitar managed to use Stone Edge to keep himself from taking any damage of the quake.

Irvine, the shiftry, and the krokorok were all not so lucky, as each one of them felt the weight of the world on their shoulders crush them as they all fell to the ground, deceased.

Rudo also took plenty of damage from the quake.

"W-wait.." The tyranitar began to put his hands up as Wesley descended with an Icicle Crash, piercing straight through the blue diamond on the pokemon's chest as he once again took the final sliver of life of the one remaining enemy in the room.

"I would…" Wesley joked. "But we're kind of on a schedule."

"Hungh…" Rudo's body rose from the ground in a way that no normal riolu body should be capable of, and Aaron immediately recognized her demonic inversed eyes.

"One got away!" She announced as she rushed up the stairs after the skuntank.

"We have stop her before she sets off some dangerous trap, or takes the life of an innocent captive if there are any!" He exclaimed as the rest of Moonbrand followed close behind Rudo.

 **4F**

Wesley, Aaron, and Hex all arrived in what appeared to be a recently converted dormitory to see Rudo sound asleep next to the skuntank they had encountered earlier.

"You four should be careful not to run in this dungeon." She warned them as she brushed some sand away with her tail to reveal small Effect Spores just barely hidden in the ground. "You never know when a trap is waiting for you to step in. Now then, you're heading to Noironia and you have in your possession a peculiar riolu. Am I correct in assuming that you belong to the mercenary band Moonbrand?"

"This of course, depends on who is asking." Wesley stepped forwards before gesturing to Hex and Aaron to let them know that he had this.

"I am Shamimah." She replied. "I serve King Tajwar of Qaraqan. You are passing through this dungeon, and you have learned of Redclaw. What do you plan to do?"

"I don't follow." Wesley shrugged as Shamimah fed Rudo a nearby lum berry to wake the riolu up back to her normal state.

"There are three options I can see." Shamimah drew in the sand with her tail. "You kill Redclaw. This good deed will make you quite popular here in Ignia, but perhaps you are popular enough in Ignia already. If that is the case, you capture Redclaw, and let me bring him with me. To Qaraqan. To Tajwar. I put in a good word for you, and Moonbrand becomes more liked in Qaraqan. Perhaps a little less liked in Ignia then before, but Tajwar has experience. Tashia does not. Final option, you find way to leave Redclaw be. This will anger most civilized pokemon who hear of this decision, and you will find your popularity fall in all provinces, but will earn respect among the barbarian camps who live in harmony with the savage pokemon."

"And I assume if we were to kill Redclaw, Qaraqan wouldn't like us as much if we were to capture him instead?" Wesley seemed to be picking up on things.

"Qaraqan is fair. Tajwar is fair." Shamimah replied. "You may kill this beast if you wish, but perhaps Qaraqan will not be quick to trust you with future requests. I shall return to see the answer you arrive at yourselves at the final hour."

Shamimah let out a poof of Haze and when it cleared, she was gone.

"What a strange lady that was…" Rudo rubbed her head.

"It looks like news of this Redclaw pokemon even reaches Qaraqan." Hex mused. "In any case, let's continue onwards."

 **5F**

A more energetic Rudo led Hex, Wesley, and Aaron into what appeared to be a converted dining room, though it clearly hadn't been used. In the room, wandering around, were savage pokemon.

An electrike, a clefairy, a buizel, a duskull, and a flaaffy. As they noticed Moonbrand approaching, each one of them bared their fangs and charged.

After a cursory glance to each other, Moonbrand charged back.

* * *

 **Ignia: Ember Wilds(B5F Mystery Dungeon(because they're going the other way this time)): Age of Entei, Year 1: 6th of First Month: Revenant, Part 3.5**

 **B4F**

"But what _is_ it?" James asked as everyone crowded around a rather large flower blooming in the middle of the room.

"It's an Aroma Flower." Semora identified with a smile. "It's heavenly scent can attract the more weak-willed pokemon for miles. Grass and fairy types are the most easily affected by its fragrance, but all pokemon are susceptible."

"It's a wonderful way to be able to invoke the moves Sweet Scent and Aromatherapy without actually using or knowing those moves, but it takes up your item carrying space."

"Well, I'll pluck it and put it in the bag for now." Conlan decided. "We don't want any pokemon to wander in here because of this flower and never come back out. We can work out who, if anyone, gets to keep it later."

"Conlan is correct." Alex agreed. "It's nice to stop and smell the flowers every once in a while but poor Paulo must be miserable in that castle listening to Queen Deirdre and Concordia prattling on about the other nations while he's waiting patiently for us."

"To the next floor then." Bravero agreed with a nod.

 **B5F(Final Floor)**

"Oooh!" the rightmost of three simisear standing around a cauldron of boiling water over a fire began to laugh as he noticed the Moonbrand members walk in. "I hear a marching order! I hear it!"

"LOOK! LOOK!" The middle simisear shouted in a voice that was only barely understandable as he pointed. "IT'S THE MOONBRAND! GUYS! BOSS!"

The leftmost of the simisear didn't open his mouth to say anything, but clapped and jumped around in a strangely giddy fashion.

The ground began to shake, and all of a sudden each of the Moonbrand members and Alex found themselves split into three groups of three as walls of boiling water shot up, separating each of them with their own simisear to deal with.

Bravero, James, and Alex found themselves dealing the the rightmost simisear.

Conlan, Charlie, and Xialyn found themselves dealing with the silent, leftmost simisear.

Magdalene, Semora, and Ken found themselves in the center, dealing with the loud, middle simisear.

"Ahaahahahahahahahahhh!" A chorus of laughter erupted from the center cauldron. "Now we have you!"

Two shiny kabutops women jumped out to join the rightmost and leftmost simisears in their fights against the split Moonbrand members.

"After all this time…" A voice grinned as a regular kabutops jumped out into the middle area and pointed his scythes at Semora.

"I've _finally_ run into you again to get my revenge! Bow before the indomitable might of my sisters!"

"Kayla!" The kabutops near the blind simisear on the right announced as she struck a pose.

"Kylie!" The kabutops near the mute simisear on the left did the same.

"And me!" The kabutops in the middle posed as well. "The bladesinging revenant of The Known World! Kyle! The Killer Kabutops is back, Baby!"

* * *

 _ **AN0: OMFHOHG HE'S BACK GUYS! OMFHUOHIHGHIYGIYUGYUYTFQUYFHG!**_

* * *

 _ **AN1: Serious Time: RIP Gina. You had a long run, and luck always seemed to be on your side. Guess it wasn't this time. A moment of silence for the fallen.**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: NEW OC!: Alex the alakazam was submitted by Mewtation151, thanks Mewtation!**_

* * *

 _ **AN3: All right, Ornia crew...this door puzzle, thankfully, is a little more forgiving than the post puzzle, but I'm also not giving any hints. I suggest reading that specific section carefully before deciding on a door you want Ornia to open. You should also send in strats in case something like what happened this time happens again (hopefully it won't but you never know). You're almost to the end guys, persevere!**_

* * *

 _ **AN4: Conlan crew: You guys are in for a fun fight, because it's a Dungeon Boss Battle! It's going to take longer and be significantly more dangerous than the battles you've experienced in the Ember Wilds leading up to this point. So send in strats! (Also start thinking about who you think would benefit the most from the Aroma Flower, no need to decide/ask for the thing right now, but that decision will eventually have to be made, so weigh your options)**_

* * *

 _ **AN5: Rudo crew: You guys don't have to decide what specifically to do about Redclaw just yet, but I do want you to start**_ **thinking** _**about it. I also want you to send in strats for this battle!**_

* * *

 _ **AN6: OCs!**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


	15. The Wildeburn Crew Is Exhausted

**Brief Revenant Recap:** "Oooh!" the rightmost of three simisear standing around a cauldron of boiling water over a fire began to laugh as he noticed the Moonbrand members walk in. "I hear a marching order! I hear it!"

"LOOK! LOOK!" The middle simisear shouted in a voice that was only barely understandable as he pointed. "IT'S THE MOONBRAND! GUYS! BOSS!"

The leftmost of the simisear didn't open his mouth to say anything, but clapped and jumped around in a strangely giddy fashion.

The ground began to shake, and all of a sudden each of the Moonbrand members and Alex found themselves split into three groups of three as walls of boiling water shot up, separating each of them with their own simisear to deal with.

Bravero, James, and Alex found themselves dealing the the rightmost simisear.

Conlan, Charlie, and Xialyn found themselves dealing with the silent, leftmost simisear.

Magdalene, Semora, and Ken found themselves in the center, dealing with the loud, middle simisear.

"Ahaahahahahahahahahhh!" A chorus of laughter erupted from the center cauldron. "Now we have you!"

Two shiny kabutops women jumped out to join the rightmost and leftmost simisears in their fights against the split Moonbrand members.

"After all this time…" A voice grinned as a regular kabutops jumped out into the middle area and pointed his scythes at Semora.

"I've _finally_ run into you again to get my revenge! Bow before the indomitable might of my sisters!"

"Kayla!" The kabutops near the blind simisear on the right announced as she struck a pose.

"Kylie!" The kabutops near the mute simisear on the left did the same.

"And me!" The kabutops in the middle posed as well. "The bladesinging revenant of The Known World! Kyle! The Killer Kabutops is back, Baby!"

* * *

 **Ignia: Ember Wilds(B5F Mystery Dungeon(because they're going the other way this time)): Age of Entei, Year 1: 5th of First Month: Revenant, Part 4**

 **Moonbrand Present: Conlan, Charlie, Xialyn, /Semora, Magdalene, Ken, /Bravero, James**

 **Others: /Alex**

 **B5F**

James, stuck on the far right with Alex and Bravero, fighting Kayla and Blind, was the first to act. Taking stock of his allies and his enemies, he focused his attention on Kayla, the shiny kabutops, and gave a hearty laugh as he let loose a Thunderbolt from his ghostly palm. The electricity shot forth with the speed of Raikou and landed smack dab in the middle of Kayla's stomach, causing the kabutops to wail out in absolute agony, though it appeared no one could hear her past the giant walls of boiling water.

Xialyn meanwhile, on the far left, quickly set up a Reflect for herself, Charlie, and Conlan as they dealt with Kylie and Mute. "

On the rightmost arena, Blind began his own plan of attack, first setting himself up with an Amnesia.

In the middle arena, where Semora, Magdalene, and Ken found themselves face to face with Deaf and Kyle, Ken quickly stood at Semora's back and rose his hand towards Deaf. With a quick glance at the boiling water walls, Ken attempted to lift Deaf towards the nearest one with a Telekinesis. Although the simisear fought violently against the psychic force, Ken still managed to start the ember pokemon's ascent towards the wall, though he wasn't quite there yet.

Left with no other alternative, Deaf shot out a Flame Burst towards Ken, the source of his current problems, which Magdalene managed to react to in time to take the blow herself, powering up her own fire capabilities.

Semora concerned herself not with the simisear and instead focused on Kyle. She rushed up to him with a Leaf Blade, managing to get a good hit in on his chest as he grunted in pain, staggering back a bit.

Back on the far right, Bravero leapt towards Kayla with a Sky Uppercut, which to her credit, the kabutops tried to dodge, but as she did so, her legs seemed to lock in place, and she realized that the Thunderbolt that James had fired off earlier had managed to paralyze her. She used all her energy to try to avoid Bravero's attack, but still ended up taking quite the scrape across her jawbone.

Meanwhile, Kyle's focus wasn't on anyone except Semora. He rushed up to her and readied an X-Scissor, which he completely overshot before running into one of the water walls, the kinetic force of which sent him flying off into oblivion yet again.

"Well…" Semora couldn't help but laugh a bit. "That's one problem down."

Magdalene noticed how close Ken was holding Deaf to the boiling water as well, and her eyes began to glow as she let loose an Extrasensory towards the simisear, though it seemed as though the move had no effect on the monkey's already broken mind.

Back on the right, Alex once again entered her mega-evolved state as she took note of the cauldron that the water walls seemed to be coming from. She quickly let out a Focus Blast in order to destroy the contraption.

The move hit the cauldron with ferocious force, and the contrapion began to clearly crack as boiling water began to leak out of it. It wouldn't take much more damage to destroy the horrid tool completely.

Back on the left most side, Charlie quickly Dug under the dirt of the arena. Conlan meanwhile set his sights on the simisear. He rushed towards Mute, brandishing a Fury Swipes, seething with fury, each of Conlan's five swipes slashed through the fur and flesh of the detestable simisear before him. Mute jolted demonically with each hit, the fact that he didn't screech out in pain was unsettling, but it didn't deter Conlan from backing up his foe towards the water wall.

Mute, for his part, used Acrobatics to leap over Conlan, before grazing the monfero's backside, nearly causing Conlan to fall towards the very water wall he'd been positioning Mute towards.

"We don't need to worry about the fire types!" Kylie announced even as she shot a Mud Shot towards Conlan, coating the monferno with layers of dug up sediment. "That weavile is easy prey for you isn't she?"

Mute gave Kylie a strange look. He, of course, couldn't talk, but could both listen and understand her. He seemed to think his own personal options through before giving a small, unconvincing nod.

Back on the right most side, Kayla completed her Rain Dance, and the skies above the Ember Wilds became cloaked with dark clouds as rain began to pour down.

Kylie smirked, from the leftmost arena as she noticed the rain. "Oh good, sis has gotten that going. Now I can get _serious_!"

She prepared a Surf attack, but before she could cast it, she found herself smacked by Conlan's Mach Punch.

"Ow!" She complained as she turned her attention towards Conlan. "For that, I'm not holding back!" She followed through with the rest of her Surf attack, which saw Conlan completely drenched by rushing water, and while Xialyn took the same attack, she didn't seem to react, even as she struggled to keep balance.

The surprise, however, came from Mute, who had taken so much water of the blast that he himself had drowned to death.

In the rightmost arena, James noticed Kayla's movements and once again shot a Thunderbolt towards her, which once again struck her directly. The kabutops woman was barely holding on, that much as clear.

Blind, the simisear nearby, as he couldn't see, chose a direction and lunged with a powerful Crunch. The dumb simisear found himself chomping down on the cauldron in the center of the arena, and all of a sudden, a gigantic explosion of water permeated throughout the arenas, and as it did, all the pokemon present, save for the underground Charlie and the telekinetically levitated Deaf, found themselves hit with the full force of critical hit Liquidation.

As the water walls dispersed and ceased to be, James looked around his area to notice that both Bravero and Alex had been taken down by the blow, as well as Kayla, while Blind still seemed to be holding on. He then noticed Semora, standing alone in her area with Deaf the simisear, while Kylie and Xialyn remained in their own area, though he also took note of Charlie's Dig hole. Xialyn looked back at him and nodded.

"My my, one of the other areas has certainly made a mess." She then rushed up to Kylie and slammed her with a Punishment, knocking the Kabutops backwards.

Deaf, noticing the situation, screeched at Blind. "TO YOUR LEFT! SHE'S ON THE LEFT!", before quickly turning his attention on Kylie, whom he attacked with a Low Sweep, knocking the remaining kabutops lady down before grabbing her and beginning to drag her away as Blind fumbled and did the same.

"Gah!" Charlie appeared from the ground to attack Kylie only to notice she was being dragged away along with her sister by the two remaining simisear.

"Dammit!" She stomped on the ground. "None of you guys are in any shape to go after them!"

She then noticed James. "Think you can Hypnosis him?"  
James attempted as Charlie suggested, and managed to just barely score a Hypnosis hit on Deaf, as Blind was, well, blind. The simisear dropped to the ground.

"The blind one is still getting away though!" James replied, urgently.

"Not for long…" Charlie dug back under the ground once more.

"You two!" Semora shouted to James and Xialyn. "Let's go take care of the sleeping one while Charlie deals with the blind one!"

James and Xialyn both nodded as they rushed to the side of the sleeping Deaf.

"Please, allow me… the honor…" Xialyn brandished her claws with a creepy smile as she didn't wait for permission and finished off both the simisear and the kabutops with Poison Jabs.

Meanwhile, Charlie had already taken care of the barely clinging to life Blind, and had returned back to the rest of the team.

As Charlie was the first one back, she noticed both Magdalene and Conlan on the brink of death. She immediately went to the young vulpix in order to stabilize her.

As Semora, James, and Xialyn came back, they each went to Ken, Alex, and Conlan, as Bravero seemed to have stabilized on his own, in order to keep their conditions from deteriorating.

Semora managed to get Ken's pulse under control, and James was able to keep Alex's life in check.

Xialyn looked up from Conlan's body, curiously.

"A question...for the lot of you. Do corpses _breathe_ for moments after death?"

"Absolutely not." James shook his head. "Well, unless the corpse is a ghost-type!"

"Then this is...quite the anomaly…" Xialyn looked back at Conlan.

"For here our leader is, breathing fine as day, but body as cold to the touch as Kyurem himself."

 **Nowhere**

"I have to say, love, that this is getting a little old…" Libitina floated around Conlan, though her mood was less than pleasant. "This is what, your fourth time dying? You do realize that once you hit that eighth counter, you're done, right? And to top it all off your answering the summons of that fop from Lliirasune, no doubt to cause harm to my beautiful nation. You better make this ritual a real ride for me or I may not forgive you, hun. Hm?"

Libitina noticed the aroma flower in Conlan's possession.

"Did you really think to bring me flowers?!" She gasped in a teasing manner. "What a gentleman for remembering! Too bad you didn't remember to have your body ripped up though...mmm...building you new ones is just so…"

"Look, I don't mean to rush you, but-" Conlan sighed as he motioned to himself. "I do need to get to Lliirasune, so if you could-"

"Right, right" Libitina rolled her eyes. "I'll fix you up nice and proper so you can look your best for those fairy harlots in their great big castles. But perhaps you'd like a little taste of Wamekufa hospitality before then?" She flirted to only get no response.

"How mean you're getting as I keep bringing you back. Don't worry, I know not to actually take your flower there. Oh! That reminds me...I'm sorry for your team's recent loss."

Libitina snickered as she saw Conlan's surprised face.

"What?! Who?!"

"Oh no, I'm not telling." The lampent slowly began to work on restoring Conlan to life. "A girl gets bored when she does the duties of a god, after all. She needs her entertainment every now and then. Now, if you could stiffen your muscles up a bit~, this requires precision~!"

 **Ember Wilds, B5F**

Everyone was once again awake.

Charlie and Magdalene slowly led the group towards the final flight of stairs out of the floor. Though, Charlie herself couldn't help but think that something was off.

This was the final floor of the dungeon, there should be a clear exit, not a staircase.

Trap.

The stairs are rigged.

Get away.

Those three thoughts flashed through Charlie's head along with her options.

Simply saying "wait" took too long as Magdalene had already began to climb down the staircase.

Quickly, Charlie grabbed the vulpix, dragging her back and turning her own body to shield her from whatever she might have triggered.

What she'd triggered was a terrible spike trap, and Charlie found one iron spike lodged in her foot, the other in her backside.

"No…" Magdalene muttered as Charlie wearily fought whatever strange poison the traps had been coated with, pulling them out of her body, hissing angrily.

Magdalene should have been more careful, she cursed herself in her mind. She was just tired from the constant stress of being near death. Her regret immediately hit her, she made a fatal mistake, and Charlie was the one who suffered.

Charlie dragged her weary mind back to reality and held onto Magdalene's shoulder to steady herself until the room stopped moving. Her first emotion was fear for the Vulpix in case any of the spikes had got through. Thankfully, they had not and that was the most important part. While worriedly checking on Magdalene she recognised the spark of guilt contained within her eyes, and that hurt worse than the wounds.

"Magdalene, everyone makes mistakes. Even you. It was my choice to do that, so don't blame yourself." Charlie stated intently.

"Um... yeah... yeah..." She weakly got out, her voice quivering slightly. With a deep breath to compose herself, she spoke up. "Well... thank you... I'll try to be more careful... Let's head down now, shall we? I'm sure we can handle whatever's next." She told Charlie, feigning confidence, though whether it was to convince Charlie, or herself, not even she was sure.

"We're buying some berries when we get to Flamewater." Charlie decided.

* * *

 **Ignia: Ignus Scrublands(7F Mystery Dungeon): Age of Entei, Year 1: 6th of First Month: A Different Kind of Guild, Part 4**

 **Moonbrand Present: Mandy, Ornia, Ultima, Verden**

 **5F**

"Um, wouldn't…" Mandy walked up to Ornia. "Wouldn't it be the _bronze_ door?" She whispered. "These guys are the _Bronze Mothims_ after all, and the solution to the last puzzle was the post with those mothim wings…"

"We shall head through the bronze and be on our way!" Ornia announced to the bandits in the room as Ultima subtly Dragon Danced his way to the door and opened it, to see the stairs leading upwards.

"Good, almost done with this hell hole." Verden shrugged as Ultima and Mandy both went through while Ornia beckoned him to follow.

 **6F**

 **MONSTER HOUSE!(Litwick, Chandelure, Tepig, Pignite, Torracat, Pyroar, Conkeldurr, Scrafty, Riolu, Throh, Gallade, Scyther, Natu, Steelix, Dratini, Chesnaught, Spiritomb)  
** "You've gotta be fucking kidding me..." Verden gave an exasperated sigh. Mandy looked over the combination of savage pokemon, clearly starved for food, and set up a Swords Dance. Ornia, meanwhile, put up a Light Screen to prepare for the coming attacks. Ultima roared to the sky as his Rain Dance brought clouds and a downpour of water, just in time for the savage pokemon to make their move. As the litwick minimized, the chandelure fired a Flame Burst towards Ultima, singing his mega-gyarados skin lightly. The tepig ran up to Mandy who parried its Assurance without effort, though the pignite's Heat Crash from above was a bit of a surprise, as the pokemon pummeled her into the ground before joining its pre-evolution. The torracat let out a soft Growl that no one could hear over the heavy rain. As she got back to her feet, the pyroar let out an Echoed Voice aimed at the mawile, though once again Mandy could thank both the rain and the screen of light surrounding her and the other Moonbrand members for her protection. The conkeldurr rushed for Verden with a Hammer Arm, slamming the breloom straight back into the dungeon wall. Verden's body was battered and bruised, and he'd only barely managed to keep the egg safe from the onslaught.

The scrafty Leered at the Moonbrand members, though none of them seemed to be paying it any attention. The riolu rushed Mandy with a Feint, managing to get in a solid hit. Meanwhile, the throh charged at Ornia with a Superpower, which the carbink almost cockily levitated over as the throh missed his attack by a wide margin. The gallade began to clone himself with Double Team, though he only managed to create a solitary second clone. The scyther began a Swords Dance of its own, while the natu charged Ornia with its Peck attack, managing to actually take the carbink by surprise and knock her a fully three feet backwards. The steelix rushed in with a Rage, though once again Mandy was able to finesse her way past the attack. The dratini rammed into Ornia with a Slam, knocking the carbink even further back. The chesnaught rushed towards Verden and leapt at him with a Body Slam, which Verden had to turn his back to to take head on for fear of dropping the egg he was holding otherwise. The breloom's vision was starting to blur as his thoughts began to drift towards a warm bed.

The spiritomb took one look at Ultima, uttered words that were incomprehensible, and simply fell to the ground dead, the Memento seeping its way into Ultima's head, causing the gyarados to rethink fighting these starving savage pokemon.

Verden managed to quickly plant a Leech Seed on the conkeldurr, and began to slowly heal his wounds as he drained the savage's life force. Mandy looked at who was left, and rushed at the throh with a Play Rough, her claws and head-fangs ripping the savage apart completely.

Ornia noticed the chesnaught and with a soft, melodic prayer, she dug deep within herself and let loose a Hidden Power. The chesnaught turned and its eyes grew wide as it became as white as snow, before dissipating in the wind.

Ultima rushed in towards the steelix with an Aqua Tail, though the land serpent managed to avoid being struck. He then found himself staring at the litwick, who jumped up with an Astonish, though Ultima wasn't frightened by the tiny candle pokemon. The chandelure projected another Flame Burst, this time towards Verden, which the breloom was thankfully able to dodge.

The tepig switched gears to target Ultima with Assurance, but instead rammed its way into the litwick, snuffing out the candle for good.

The pignite also shifted its target, this time to Verden, as it launched itself in another Heat Crash, crushing the breloom beneath all its weight. Verden only barely was able to save the egg from the immediate dangers before it, but he was clearly on his last legs of both energy and willpower.

The torracat shot Verden a Scary Face, but given that the breloom could see his life flashing before his eyes as he clutched the egg of his recently deceased fiancee, he couldn't find the face of a cat all too terrifying.

The pyroar turned to Ultima as it continued with its Echoed Voice, though once again the rain drowned it out.

The conkeldurr turned his attention to Ornia, and lunged at her with his Hammer Arm, though she was able to avoid the blow with ease, before cringing in pain as Verden was able to drain more of his health thanks to the Leech Seed.

The scrafty bought his attention towards Verden and began to approach him, hungrily, muttering to the breloom a Swagger attack, confusing the Moonbrand member.

The riolu rushed Ornea with another Feint, and the carbink once again found herself being shoved around by these not very effective moves. The gallade once again set up a Double Team, with each of his already existing copies creating three more clones for a total of eight of him.

The scyther continued its Swords Dance, sharpening its scythes on nearby rocks.

The natu, seeing its chance, rushed at Verden with a Peck, but rushed to fast, too hard, and ended up missing its mark.

The steelix Raged toward Ultima, though now it was the sea serpent's time to dodge the attack, as Ultima slithered around his foe.

The dratini attempted to do what the natu could not and rushed toward Verden with a Slam, though it also overshot its mark.

A confused Verden let out a Spore, managing to put the pignite to sleep while he used the rest of his energy to focus on keeping the egg out of harm's reach.

Mandy rushed to the scrafty with another Play Rough, managing to fell the hooded pokemon in one blow.

Ornia launched an Ancient Power towards the scyther, burying the bug in a tomb of rocks.

Ultima once more brought up an Aqua Tail to deal with his steelix adversary, this time managing to get in a solid strike, though not one with enough damage to fell the savage, merely enough to keep its attention.

The chandelure's Flame Burst headed towards Ornia this time, though the Light Screen seemed to block the attack completely.

The tepig once again charged Ultima with an Assurance attack, though it once again missed its mark and had to turn around to remain facing its opponent.

The pignite remained asleep near Verden, it's snores keeping the confused breloom conscious.

The torracat, upset from being ignored, lunged at Verden with a Flare Blitz.

Even while confused, Verden knew he wasn't about to dodge that, and knew the egg couldn't handle all that heat. He quickly rolled the egg towards the closest moonbrand member he could see as he lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, Ornia's eyes grew large with surprise as she noticed the egg below her hovering body.

The pyroar once more attempted its Echoed Voice, this time focusing on Mandy, though still, its efforts seemed for naught.

The conkeldurr lunged for Mandy as well, with its Hammer Arm, though she easily side-stepped out of the way as the last of the pokemon's health was sapped away by the Leech Seed.

The riolu set its sights on Ornia and rushed forward with a Feint that the carbink managed to dodge while leading the riolu away from the egg below her.

The gallade clones all began to Swords Dance around each other.

The natu rushed Mandy with a Peck attack, managing to get a solid hit in on the mawile's forehead, while the steelix once again attacked Ultima with a Rage attack, ramming into the gyarados as it only became even angrier.

The dratini attempted to Slam its way into Ornia, but once again the Carbink dodged as she led the pokemon away from the egg.

Verden's unconscious body managed to keep breathing, if it was a bit slowed.

Mandy lunged at the gallade with another Play Rough, managing to single out the real gallade, and bloodied the psychic and fighting type's face fairly seriously.

Ornia turned her attention towards the chandelure as she fired off another Ancient Power, the rocks seemed to zip from the heavens straight through the fire and ghost type pokemon, smothering its flames and burying it under sediment. Ornia then basked in the glory of the attack as she felt her core abilities strengthen.

Ultima continued his duel with the steelix as his Aqua Tail did not let up. With a roar that rivaled the call of Kyogre himself, Ultima severed the head of his steelix opponent.

The tepig once again missed its Assurance mark as Ornia couldn't even be reached unless the fire pig jumped, which it seemed too tired to be able to do.

The pignite's snores persisted as it did not seem close to waking.

The torracat rushed towards Ultima with a Flare Blitz, and while it did manage to take the gyarados by surprised, the amount of recoil that the torracat suffered was enough to incapacitate it.

Once again, the pyroar's Echoed Voice did nothing as Ornia's Light Screen blocked out what little sound could make it through Ultima's Rain Dance.

The riolu managed to get a sizeable Feint in on Mandy, but although bruised, Mandy could still fight perfectly well as the damage from the hit wasn't comparable to the accuracy.

The gallade clones finally began to make their move as they rushed towards Ultima with a Fury Cutter, though thankfully the mega-gyarados serpent was able to slither his way around his attackers in the rain.

The natu flew in towards Many with another Peck, this one with such force that Mandy found herself knocked prone on the ground.

The dratini rushed at Ultima with a slam, but found itself missing its mark yet again.

Verden's breathing began to return to a normal pace, though it was still clear he was walking a very thin line between life and death.

Mandy brought herself to her feet and quickly attacked the gallade with one more Play Rough, though he managed to dodge her advance.

Ornia's attention turned towards the sleeping pignite as she let loose a Rock Throw in the shape of a javelin. The rock weapon managed to pierce straight through the pignite's heart, and the sleeping pig would not wake up.

Ultima no focused on the gallade as well, with a hefty slamming of his tail on the ground, he propelled himself into the air for a Bounce attack, causing the tepig, gallade, and natu to all miss their attacks they had planned for him.

The pyroar shouted another Echoed Voice towards Mandy, though _still_ , its attacks went nowhere. The riolu and dratini both lunged at Ornia with a Feint and Slam respectively, each one hitting the carbink, though she made sure as she could feel her own health dropping to low levels to not let the pokemon take notice of the egg.

Verden's breathing once again slowed down as it also became irregular. His condition slightly worse than before.

Realizing that Ultima would take care of the gallade, Mandy turned her attention towards the riolu, and rammed herself into it with a Play Rough, sending the pokemon careening into the ground, leaving behind a trail of blood leading up to its corpse.

Ornia focused her own attentions on the natu as she tossed another Rock Throw javelin, this one also managing to pierce through its mark, though not as impressively, as the bird was weak enough to begin with, so not much force was needed to slay it.

Ultima descended with his Bounce attack, and thankfully managed to single out the correct gallade clone, as the remaining clones disappeared when Ultima revealed the dead gallade crushed underneath him.

The tepig once again missed Ornia with Assurance. The carbink almost laughed at how comical the brain of a savage pokemon could be sometimes. Meanwhile the pyroar's Echoed Voice once again was blocked by the Light Screen.

Ultima suddenly found himself Slammed in the back by the dratini, dealing more damage than he would have thought possible as he was knocked prone.

Verden's body began to convulse in the same way Gina's had earlier, when she was gasping for air. It seemed clear that he either needed to luck out, or to get medical support quickly. Unfortunately, each of the other moonbrand members were busy dealing with a pokemon of their own.

Mandy rushed the dratini with Play Rough, wringing out the small dragon serpent and throwing its body across the dungeon.

Ornia summoned another Rock Throw javelin and lobbed it at the tepig, once again managing to skewer the swine.

Ultima set his sights on the pyroar. The last of the savage pokemon left. He brought up an Aqua Tail, determined to finish this fight, and slammed it down. The pyroar's neck snapped with more noise than any of its attempted Echoed Voice attacks, and it slumped to the ground, the last enemy in the monster house, defeated.

Mandy and Ultima regrouped with Ornia, who had moved Verden's egg to an indent atop her head.

"I'm...unsure if he made it." She admitted. "He rolled this over to me before he fell down."

"There's only one way to check." Ultima nodded to Ornia and the carbink floated over to Verden and closed her eyes as she put her forehead to his.

She slowly floated back up.

"Well?" Mandy wondered, worried.

"He's got a burn scar on his back from that Heat Crash he took earlier." Ornia began. "It's horrendous, honestly. I wouldn't want to go on if a similar tragedy befell me."

She sighed. "However, it seems that his soul doesn't feel the same way. He'll be with us in a few short moments. I'd like to caution, however, that we're about to enter the final floor of this dungeon, and we have no means of healing. We'll be dealing with the boss of this branch of The Bronze Mothims in a far less than ideal state. Think carefully about your actions."

A short while later, a groggy Verden came to, and the quartet continued on.

 **7F**

"And here they are…" A sigilyph sighed as Mandy, Ultima, Ornia, and Verden all entered the final floor. All they had to do was get past these guys, and they were home-free to Wildeburn.

"The intruders that one grumpig guard warned us about."

Beside the sigilyph was a zebstrika on his right side and a magcargo on his left.

"Well we can't quite let them live now can we?" The magcargo questioned sweetly as she sized each of the pokemon up.

"Now, now, you two. I believe it's I that get to make the decisions around here." The zebstrika stepped forwards.

"My name is Zed. I am but one of many administrators of The Bronze Mothims. You've shown promise in getting here, and normally we'd offer you a space in camp, but those pesky mercenary scarves tell a different story. No, even if you say you'll let us be, I sincerely doubt it. So, I'm prepared to make a deal to grant us a bit of a middle-ground you see…"

Zed looked over at the sigilyph. "Sine, grab it."

"Nabbed!" Sine chuckled as he lifted the egg off of Ornia's head and brought it close to him with a Trick.

"Leave the egg with us and be on your way. If it's a male, we'll train him. Sure he'll be a grunt at first, and might have to survive some tough initial missions, but he could one day rise through the ranks until he becomes the next Bronzed Mothim. A life of crime is still a life after all. If it's a female, well, we can train her in a _different_ way. Teach her special techniques, and then, when she's of age, sell off to Nike through the slave trade."

"Of course we aren't-"

"Hey, Fable, I wasn't talking to you." Zed narrowed his eyes. "I was talking to the breloom." He turned to face Verden.

"You sure got busy with that glaceon cunt didn't ya?" The zebstrika laughed. "They say being a parent pushes you to your limits, so allow us to spell things out for you simply. You hand over your kid here, and we let you go. Refuse to, and we kill you, and the kid. This choice is yours and yours alone to make. I'd also recommend your friends not move around too much, because the second one of _my_ friends detects danger, well, Sine and Maru here might have to take _drastic_ measures."

Maru, the magcargo blew a small ember as Sine held out the egg.

"I'm not a patient pokemon, Mr. Breloom." Zed scowled. "Give me an answer."

* * *

 **Ignia: Ignus Scrublands(7F Mystery Dungeon): Age of Entei, Year 1: 6th of First Month: Redclaw, Part 4**

 **Moonbrand Present: Aaron, Hex, Rudo, Wesley**

 **5F**

Rudo was the first to act as she lunged towards the flaaffy with a Force Palm, and almost immediately the electric type was down on the ground.

The savage clefairy then targeted Wesley with a Double Slap, though the weavile easily slipped into the shadows during the struggle and avoided any damage. He then quickly emerged from said shadows, smacking the duskull with an Assurance, once again, easily knocking it out.

Aaron's attention went to the clefairy, and he rushed forwards with an Iron Head, which also managed to fell the pokemon quite easily.

Hex then began a Bulldoze which was more than enough to take out the remaining buizel and electrike.

"Well, that was easy enough." Rudo nodded as the four continued onwards.

 **6F**

What they saw as they reached the main area of the floor were mountains and mountains of savage pokemon caracasses.

"This was once a monster house from the looks of it…" Wesley stepped over a mangled gallade as Aaron admired the javelin-like rock sticking out of what appeared to be a tepig.

"L-leave!" A grumpig amidst the rubble looked up at them.

"You can't handle him...Save...yourselves…"

He looked like any other carcass on the floor. Though he seemed to be physically holding himself together, as though taking his hands off of his stomach would cause his insides to spill out.

"Wait, you mean Redclaw?" Rudo rushed up to him. "Redclaw did this to you?"

"Redclaw…" The grumpig's eyes widened with unadulterated terror.

"Redclaw!" He gasped again, though his next breath never came.

"We still don't even know what species of pokemon Redclaw is." Aaron lamented.

"Well…" Rudo clutched her scarf around her neck and looked onwards. "Nothing we can do now but move on and fight. Ornia and the others are probably waiting our arrival in Wildeburn."

 **7F**

There, sleeping off of what was likely its afternoon meal, was the pokemon known as Redclaw.

A mega-evolved salamence of gargantuan proportions.

"That thing is huge!" Rudo's eyes widened. "It's way bigger than even the Longguo emperor! Like three times his size at least!"

"The good news is that we've got the jump on it while it's sleeping." Wesley realized. "We can do what we want with him. I believe Shamimah laid out a few options clearly earlier, kill him, capture him for her, or just sneak on by."

"That said, those aren't our _only_ options." Aaron realized. "We could capture him and present him to someone else, for example."

"Well, we need to decide what we want to do about him before he wakes up and we don't have a choice anymore!" Rudo tired to hurry everyone along.

Redclaw flopped over on his side.

A small tremor surged through the ground.

* * *

 _ **AN1: Conlan/Lliirasune crew, you guys have officially arrived in Flamewater! Congrats! Due to this, we'll be having our first "Down Time" (A new way of doing the relaxing chapters rather than just support scenes over and over and over again). Each of the Moonbrand Members on this particular mission has 4,125 poke to spend as they see fit (though try not to spend too much too fast. Don't want to go broke before you even leave Ignia after all). At Flamewater, you can do just about whatever your character wants to do, and spend time with whoever your character wants to spend time with. Due to the number of OCs present however, I will limit that number to 3 for specific hangouts. The support ranks will increase during those scenes. So yeah, please send in what you want your OCs to do!**_

* * *

 _ **AN1.5: Alex, the same rules apply to you, with one major distinction. King Paulo has generously granted you an allowance of poke for your trip. After the 2,000 you used to get to Moonbrand, you still have 8,000 poke left over, though he does expect any unused money to be returned to him when you reach Lliirasune.**_

* * *

 _ **AN1.75: Oh yeah, by the way, anyone who wants the Aroma Flower, now would be the time to pitch your case to Conlan. (You don't get it yet, but if you don't pitch your case, you don't get it ever).**_

* * *

 _ **AN2: Verden, you have a pretty important choice to make. I do not envy you. That said, Ultima and Mandy, nothing is stopping either of you from making the choice for him (In a PM), if you catch my meaning.**_

* * *

 _ **AN3: Rudo/Drudezdag crew: REDCLAW! Who wants to do what with him? You can fight and kill him, that'd make Ignia really love you. You can capture him, and present him to someone other than Tashia to make them like you more, but Ignia will be pissed a bit, you can leave him be, and barbaric and savage pokemon will both become much more friendly towards you, but most civilized pokemon might start to shun you a bit if they find out you were behind that. In the event of a three-way tie, Rudo will break it.**_

* * *

 _ **AN4: OCs!**_

 _ **OC Name, Sex, Species:**_

 _ **OC Home Province (Where they are from):**_

 _ **OC Role(Teammate Hopeful, Other Team Member, Minor Villain, Commoner, Etc.):**_

 _ **OC Profession(Are they unemployed like Terune, are they a veteran like Concordia, an assassin like Semora, etc.?):**_

 _ **OC Moveset:**_

 _ **Move 1(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 2(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 3(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Move 4(From Natural Movepool):**_

 _ **Alt Move 1(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **Alt Move 2(Can be TM or Egg Move):**_

 _ **OC Personality:**_

 _ **OC Background:**_

 _ **Anything Else Doobop Should Know:**_

* * *

 _ **That's all for now! Thanks for reading ^.^!**_


End file.
